Perfection
by The Pirate Gypsy
Summary: With his soon to be wife, a new house and his career getting back on track, it seems like nothing could go wrong for Mort Rainey. But when he starts getting some strange letters from a fan, could it be a harmless bid for attention or could Mort's perfect new life start crashing down around him? Sequel to A Thousand Words.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"How do I look?"

"Much too good to be seen with me."

Dylan smiled and walked over to her fiancé, fixing his collar. "You look very handsome."

"Really? Because I feel like a wreck."

"Everything's going to be fine." She said to him. "Everyone is going to be there to celebrate you."

"No, everyone is going to be there wondering why such a big deal is being made about me."

"That's not true."

He looked down at her with a nervous expression. "What if no one thinks it's good?"

"Mort, the book is good." She reassured. "I think so, your publishers think so, and most importantly you think so. The critics will think so and your fans will think so."

"It's just…This is my first book released in so long, I don't know what people are expecting."

"Do you really think your publishers would put this much effort and money into throwing your book this swanky launch if it wasn't any good?"

"That's another thing; I'm not really a swanky launch kind of writer."

"It's just a little party, we go in, show our faces, you talk to a few people and sign their books and we can leave and come home, maybe order pizza or something because I doubt this thing will have a lot of food. They're usually just morsels on toothpicks, right?" She couldn't help but grimace at the thought.

"I don't know."

"Well, we're going to find out. We have to go."

"You'll stay with me, right?" Mort asked her. "You won't go off and talk to other people?"

"I'll stay right by your side, I promise."

He had to admit, it wasn't just the launch of his new book that had Mort nervous. It would be his first time really out socialising in a very long time, out around so many people. Not to mention, a lot of alcohol. He wasn't sure he could do it if he didn't have Dylan with him.

"Okay, cause I'm used to it being just us, you know? Just going out to dinner or whatever but this? People are gonna wanna talk to me or make me have a drink or something."

"And I will be right by your side. So, are we ready?"

Mort nodded. "As I'll ever be."

Dylan kissed him lightly. "You'll do great."

* * *

"So have you two set a date?"

"We were thinking winter. Mort proposed at Christmas so it'll give us a full year to be engaged and decide what kind of wedding we want to have."

Mort looked down at Dylan when she said that. To say the wedding had been a point of contention would be an understatement. He wanted small, quite small and Dylan disagreed. He thought she'd be on board with the small wedding seeing as it lacked any sort of drama that could occur which they could do without but she was adamant on bigger things.

"Well my one bit of advice to you, Mort," Said Jacob Prendergast, one of the men who owned the publishing house that published Mort's books. "Is give her whatever she wants. Weddings are women's business; we just need to show up on the day."

"I couldn't agree more." Dylan replied, trying to be charming to Prendergast whilst simultaneously smirk at Mort.

"But tonight, tonight is about you, Mort." The man smiled. "You and your wonderful book. I couldn't put it down when I got my hands on it."

"Thank you." Mort said. "I just hope everyone else here feels the same. I feel a little at risk with all these people holding my book in their hands."

"I'm sure they'll love it. The sales of your books in between your hiatus have been very positive, especially with…" He muttered off, realising it would be completely the wrong thing to say in front of them.

"It's alright," Dylan prompted. If she hadn't prepared herself for people to talk, she'd have been a fool. "It's only natural that curiosity would peak after our personal lives became something that could be in one of his books."

Prendergast smiled a little in embarrassment. "Anyway, as I was saying about sales…"

After a few more minutes of insider talk about sales and numbers that Dylan couldn't really follow, Prendergast excused himself to go talk to one of his other partners and Mort and Dylan walked over to the bar to sit down on the stools.

"You're doing great." She told him.

"Am I?" He frowned. "You're doing much better, you're actually talking. You'd make a good publicist."

"I'll stick with staying behind the scenes, thanks. I just know how to talk to people like this. If I didn't, I wouldn't have gotten very far in photography with no degree."

Mort looked around at all the people who held his future in his hands. If this book didn't do well…

"I feel like everyone's looking at me."

"Sorry to say it but everyone is. You're the reason they're all here."

Mort looked back to the bar. "I could really use one of those."

"Mort?" He looked back at her. "Do you want to go home?"

He sighed. "No. I just…I need to get over this. You're out, you're fine."

"I don't have everyone holding my photographs in their hands, ready to judge if they're good or not."

"No, we can stay. Anyway, Penny just got here."

Dylan turned to where he was looking to see her sister coming towards them.

"Sorry I'm late." She said. "Hi Mort, great book. Well, great book cover."

"Thanks."

"Wow, this place is packed. Are all these people fans of yours?"

"I doubt it. I really think this is just publicity for the publishers." Mort said. "I don't know half these people."

"Will some of these people be reviewing the book?"

He nodded. "Unfortunately."

"It'll be fine." Dylan said to him. "Trust me; no one here is against you."

He was about to reply when his literary agent came up to them, an immaculately dressed blonde woman named Stephanie.

"Hi, can I steal him away for a second?"

"Uh, of course." Dylan smiled. She looked at Mort. "I'll be right here if you need me."

Mort looked at her uncertainly before getting up and letting his agent lead him away. Penny took his vacated seat.

"Poor guy looks like a deer caught in the headlines."

"He's terrified no one will think the book is good."

"Well, is it?"

"I think so."

"You're biased though. Drink?"

"Just soda." She replied.

"Seriously? You could probably get free champagne all night."

"I'm not drinking."

"You're not pregnant, are you?"

"No." She looked at her sister disapprovingly. "I just told Mort I wouldn't drink."

"Oh right," Penny nodded. "Forgot about that."

"He didn't. I'd say he doesn't want anything more than a drink right now."

"But he won't, right?"

"No and I won't either."

"Your wedding is going to be fun." She joked.

Dylan looked at her tiredly. "I don't care about anyone else when it comes to my wedding, just me and him."

"Then why have you and Mort argued about what kind of wedding you're going to have since you got engaged?"

"Well, Mort just wants us to go to the court house and do it and I want the ceremony and reception. I only want us to be happy but we both want different things so it gets awkward."

"Have you explained to Mort why you want a bigger wedding than he does?"

"I thought because it's our wedding would be reason enough."

"You know Mort better than I do but come on Dylan; the guy is obviously not someone who relishes being the centre of attention." She indicated over to where Mort was standing with a group of people and not looking at all comfortable.

Dylan looked over at her fiancé, pondering what her sister had said. She had a feeling his absolute hate of attention and people being interested in him only came after Amy cheated on him. From old stories, he'd seemed much better at it before. Did that include his last wedding too?

"Dylan?" Penny asked when she didn't reply. "What are you thinking?"

"I was just wondering what his last wedding was like."

"Aw sweetie, don't do that."

Dylan looked back to her sister. "No, I know. I know that it's not the same but I can't help it. This is his second wedding. He's already done all the ceremony stuff and he doesn't want to do it again."

"That doesn't mean anything about his relationship with you. He went through a nasty divorce after his wife cheated on him, the guy's confidence completely shattered. Is it really that surprising that he might want to skip all the hoopla again? He clearly sees now that the bigger the wedding doesn't mean the better the marriage and after doing the whole show thing last time, he probably feels a little insecure to do it again seeing as the last time he was saying till death do us part and all the speeches about loving each other forever and ever, he was setting himself up for a fail."

Dylan wasn't surprised that Penny agreed with Mort that a big wedding wasn't important, Penny didn't think any kind of wedding was important but that didn't change Dylan's mind. "I get that but doesn't it matter what I want? This is my wedding too."

"I know, sweetie. I guess you two just have to really talk about it."

"We haven't really gotten the chance with Mort being so busy lately."

"Well now that the book is out and things can relax, you'll get the chance. Speaking of Mort getting back to work," She said. "Any idea when you will?"

Dylan shrugged. "I don't know. It's hard to get excited about going back to a job you're not really invested in in the first place."

"I thought you loved photography?"

"I do. I love taking pictures of things I find interesting and beautiful but my job usually consists of taking pictures of beautiful people who aren't very interesting. Or at least, I'm not supposed to find them interesting. I just have to take the pictures of them in the latest designs or without their shirt on and then my pictures get manipulated so much; they don't even look real anymore. It's hard to find the beauty in something so manufactured."

"Tell that to all the women who buy those magazines to look at your pictures."

Dylan sighed. "I guess I'm overthinking everything lately. I just need a little more time."

"That's fine." Penny said. "It's not like you aren't entitled to take it easy, it hasn't been that long."

"It's fine." Dylan shook her head. "I'm living in a house I love with the man I'm engaged to marry, he's just written a wonderful book and everything is going to be fine."

"Good, I'm happy for you." Penny smiled. "You deserve to be happy."

"I am. I'm just so happy that Mort and I are together for good now. I can't wait to be his wife."

"So the marriage is more important than the wedding?"

"Of course. I just want the wedding to be perfect too. I want the dress and the flowers and big party with people I love and really celebrate getting married to the man I love."

"Maybe you should say that to him, he's coming back over."

Dylan looked to see Mort walk back to stand next to her, his hand on her back. "Sorry about that, had to talk to some bigwigs. Stephanie's been trying to get me to sign the rights over to movie producers for years."

"And you never have?" Penny frowned.

"No, I've never heard any ideas that I've liked."

"Were they looking to buy the rights to this book?" Dylan asked.

"Want to get the offer in before anyone else which is ridiculous. They haven't even read it yet."

"That's good though, right? There's such good buzz about the book that companies are trying to secure it straight away."

"I guess, seems a little premature to me."

"It does mean there are a lot of people here for me to network with so I'm going to leave you two to it." Penny said, getting up from the seat. "Congratulations again, Mort."

"Thanks, Penny."

Penny walked off to mingle and Mort sat down.

"You wanna go home?" Dylan asked.

"Stephanie told me I should stay and act like Penny. You know, network. It's easier to get a buzz for the book if I'm around."

"Stephanie is not your boss and," Dylan stood up, taking his hand. "She is not your fiancé."

"What's the difference?" Mort joked.

Dylan smiled. "Let's go home."

Later that night, Dylan was getting into the bed where Mort was on his laptop.

"Looking for reviews?" She smirked.

"They won't be out yet. I'm well used to the waiting game."

"Then put the laptop away. I could really use your attention."

Mort smiled and closed the laptop, putting it on the floor by the bed. "And what can I help you with?"

Dylan straddled his lap with a smile. "Well, everyone's been trying to please you all night, I want a chance."

"I have a feeling you'll do the best job."

Dylan laughed a little before leaning in and kissing him. Mort pulled her body up against him. When they parted, he smiled at her.

"Thank you for tonight, I wouldn't have been able to do it without you."

"Yes you could. You're a lot more capable than you think you are." Mort had found his old self in a lot of ways these past few months but his old sense of self-confidence never really came back to him. It felt like Amy had taken that for good and though Dylan tried, she didn't know if she'd ever help him truly get it back. Maybe it was because she didn't know him when he had it. She loved him the way he was though. "Tonight just wasn't your thing. It wasn't really mine either."

"You could have had a drink, you know. Just because I can't handle it doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to."

"I don't want to. I would rather enjoy myself with you. Mort, I have done the late nights and the partying and everything and to be honest, I never really enjoyed it. What I do enjoy is coming home with you and getting into bed to see where that leads." She smirked.

"Well, if I get my way, it'll lead to you in a lot less clothing."

Dylan laughed before kissing him again.

"I really could do this for the rest of my life." She sighed contently when they parted.

"Yeah, you say that now but wait until we're married ten years." He joked.

"Hey, as long as you still love me completely, I'm in it for the long haul."

"I can safely say that I plan on loving everything about you for a very, very long time; from your beautiful eyes to your crazy middle name."

Dylan frowned up at him in confusion before smiling at him.

Mort realised. "You were messing with me when you told me that, weren't you?"

"Oh come on, I didn't think you were my future husband."

"Well, thanks."

"Don't even!" She laughed. "Are you telling me that when you opened your door to me that first day and practically ordered me off your property, you were thinking 'Yup, that's the woman I'm going to marry.'?"

"Well I…No, but it's different. I didn't seduce you."

"You are full of it! You were the one who came onto me!"

"What? No, you did. But since we were drunk, who knows what we remember?" Mort tried to mess with her. He knew he made the first move.

"You are such a little liar."

"Excuse me, I am a catch."

"The thing about catches? You can throw them back."

"Okay, give me back the ring."

"No." Dylan smiled, pulling her hand away. "Fine, I was bluffing."

"Thought so."

"Well, you are a catch after all. Maybe we should move up the wedding in case someone tries to steal you away."

"I really don't think you're going to have that problem." Mort smirked a little, trying to sound light-hearted.

Dylan looked at him. "I wish you wouldn't talk yourself down like that." She brought her lips close to his. "I for one think you're very cute with your glasses and messy hair."

His hands began stroking her waist. "That's good. Your opinion is the only one that matters to me."

"Okay, can I give you another opinion?"

"Go ahead."

"My opinion is that you should kiss me now."

Mort closed the tiny space between them as he kissed her again but didn't let it stop this time.

A few days later, Mort was woken up in a much less tender way.

"Mort, wake up!"

She bounced onto the bed to wake him up.

He shot up, his eyes full of sleep. Dylan was still in her pyjamas so it was obviously still early morning. "What? What is it?"

"The paper is here." She said excitedly, holding it out.

Mort sat up, putting on his glasses. "Great. Better get this over with."

Dylan handed him the paper and he began to read the review. Eventually, she saw a little smile appear on his face.

"I told you they'd love it." She said.

"You read it already?"

"Couldn't resist. The book's a hit, Mort. Isn't that great?"

"Yeah, it's pretty fantastic."

He didn't seem overly enthused.

"What?" Dylan asked. "Aren't you happy?"

"No, no, I am. This is better than anything I could have hoped for." He smiled at her again. "This is great."

"Yes it is." She smiled. "I'm gonna make breakfast, one worthy of a five star author." She kissed him quickly. "I'm so proud of you."

She swung her legs off the bed and left the room to go downstairs. Mort watched her go before looking down at the paper again.

_Why doesn't this feel as good as it usually does?_

_You know why._

_No I don't. Everyone loves the book; they think it's a brilliant comeback._

_But you don't. You know the other book was better, the book you wanted to publish._

_That book is never seeing the light of day, not that one. I'm not doing that to Dylan._

_Face it; you think that book was better. That's why you can't get excited._

_Shooter wrote that book. I'm not publishing it. It will never be released._

_Then why is it on a flash drive sitting in your nightstand?_

Mort looked at his nightstand. After Dylan had found the story on his laptop, he'd decided to get rid of it, take it off and delete it. When it came to actually doing it though, he couldn't without some security so he put it onto a flash drive and hid it away. He would sometimes get guilty reminders.

_That story is never getting published. Dylan is too important to me. I don't care what I think of it._

_You think it's good._

Mort rested his head back against the headboard.

_I better not ruin this marriage before it even begins._

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Be nice."

"I'm always nice."

"You're never nice."

"None of this is my fault."

Penny sighed. "Look, I asked you both out today for a very good reason. You and Dylan haven't spoken since the hospital. You need to make up."

Jen shook her head. "I was only worried about her and she threw it back in my face."

"You keep badmouthing her fiancé!" Penny scolded. "Mort is a nice guy and you won't even give him a chance."

"They've been together less than a year."

"He shot another man in the head to protect her. He's pretty much a keeper."

"We don't know anything about him."

"No, you don't know anything about him because you haven't been bothered trying to find out anything about him. If you'd given him a chance like the rest of us, you might realise that he's a good guy without some dark side like you think. Sometimes a good guy is just that, a good guy. He's never hit her, never cheated on her, isn't using her as another woman and then going home to his wife. Considering Dylan's past, this guy's a real winner. I mean, a successful author? Come on."

"They've all seemed good on paper. And he was married when they got together." Jen pointed out.

"He was separated. His wife had an affair."

"Why? Why would she stray?"

"No." Penny said firmly. "You're not allowed do that. She cheated, she was in the wrong. You can't just keep asking why until you hear something bad about him. She cheated; she was at fault, not him."

"I just don't see why they need to move so fast. If he is so level then why not wait until they're together longer?"

"What's the point? Jen, the guy saved her life and never held against her that it was her ex who nearly killed not just her but shot him too."

"They kept breaking up before all that."

"And they kept going back to each other. She loves him, he loves her, they're getting married. I don't understand why you're against it and frankly, you have no right to be."

"The man burned down a house."

"You know he did not do that." Penny said. "The police said it was more than likely Mark."

Jen didn't seem too placated by that.

"Here comes Dylan." Penny said. "Be nice."

"I am nice."

"Dylan." Penny stood and kissed her sister on the cheek when she approached the table. She looked at Jen who stayed sitting before rolling her eyes. They sat down. "So I saw the reviews for Mort's book, he must be ecstatic."

"Yeah, it's great." Dylan smiled before looking at Jen who didn't seem interested. She looked back at Penny. "He told me to thank you for coming the other night."

"Are you kidding? I should be thanking him. I met two potential new clients and scored a date at that thing."

"Who's the lucky guy?"

"Well, his name is-"

"Why am I even here?" Jen cut them off.

"I don't know, Jen. Why are you here?" Dylan asked. "You haven't seemed to want to be around me for the last few months and now you're ignoring me."

"I am not ignoring you or avoiding you, don't be so dramatic."

"I'm being dramatic? Are you kidding me? You have done nothing but throw hissy fits since I got engaged."

"To a guy who used you for sex."

"Okay, you know what? I don't need this." Dylan stood up.

"No Dylan, wait." Penny said. "Jen, stop. No one was using anyone, they both knew what they were doing and considering the fact that a relationship started about three days after they started that up, you haven't got a leg to stand on."

Dylan was still for a second before sitting back down. "You can't criticise him when you don't even know him."

"What I know is that the first thing I ever heard about him was that he was married and the second thing was he was wanted for arson."

Dylan huffed, not wanting to open her mouth about that.

"Jen, do you have any problems with Mort that are actually true?" Penny asked, trying to act as an intermediate. "He's divorced and was cleared of all suspicion long before they got engaged. Even his ex-wife said it was unlikely. So with that in mind, any other problems with the guy?"

"The way he acted at the hospital." Jen said. "He threw me out of your room."

"I had just woken up from nearly being murdered and you were yelling at me." Dylan frowned. "You were out of line back then and you're out of line now."

"Is there anything I can you ladies to drink?" The waiter asked, coming up and giving them menus.

Jen was the first answer. "White wine."

"Long Island Ice Tea." Penny said.

"I'll just have lemonade, thanks." Dylan picked up her menu.

"You're not having a drink?" Jen asked. "That's unusual."

Penny rolled her eyes again.

"It's the middle of the day, Jen; some of us don't like to get wasted until late afternoon." Dylan said, not looking up from her menu.

"It's brunch."

"It's lunch and aren't you picking up your kids from school later?"

"It's one glass of wine with lunch."

"Stellar."

"Dylan, why don't you show Jen your engagement ring?" Penny asked, trying to diffuse the tension. "I don't think she's seen it yet."

"She hasn't wanted to on account of her being against the engagement for no other reason than to be awkward."

Jen rolled her eyes. "Just show me the stupid- Wow, that's nice." She cut herself off when Dylan brought her hand up to show off the ring. "How much it cost?"

"Jen!" Penny scolded. She was beginning to really regret her idea.

"What? I was just asking."

"I don't know." Dylan said, taking her hand away. "I didn't ask and it doesn't matter. All I care about is you being happy for me."

"I just think everything is going so fast, why the rush?"

"Why wait?" Dylan shrugged. "I know I want to spend the rest of my life with Mort and he knows the same about me. Why wait another year or two and come to the same conclusion we have now?"

"What if you're not together in the next year or two? A divorce is much harder than just breaking up. I mean, who gets the house? Have you even thought about these things?"

"Of course we have, Mort's been through this before but we're not planning on getting a divorce."

"No one plans to get a divorce."

"And yet people do every day. People who have been together for forty years are getting divorces so you cannot say that just because me and Mort haven't been together that long, it won't work out. There are people who get married after a month who stay together forever and there are people who are together for ten years who split up. Jen, I'm done living my life too afraid to do anything. I want to marry Mort and I want my family to be around me when I do. All my family."

Jen contemplated for a second. "Fine, I'll be supportive."

Dylan smiled. "Thank you. I need my sisters with me for this, if only because I have no idea how to plan a wedding."

"You've done it before." Jen said causing the two to look at her tiredly again. "What? I'm just saying, you were getting married before. I have the wedding dress in my attic to prove it."

Dylan gasped. "I completely forgot about that."

"About your wedding dress? I haven't. Now that you have a house, you need to take it back. The attic is way too full."

"I can't bring that dress into my new home with Mort."

"Why not? It's not like he won't understand that you were getting married before. Of course you'd have a dress."

Penny looked at Dylan. "I agree. Mort will be fine."

Dylan didn't seem too quick to agree. "What should I do with it?"

"Well, if you love it as much as you did when you first got it, you could just wear it to your new wedding." Jen said.

"I can't do that." She frowned. "I can't wear the dress I was going to marry Ryan in at my wedding to Mort."

"Why not? The dress isn't about who the groom is, it's about the bride. That dress has nothing to do with Ryan, it's just about you. You love the dress; you never got the chance to wear it, now you can."

"Besides," Penny added. "You were never going to marry Ryan, remember? You were planning on breaking up with him. I have no idea why you even bought the dress when you did but it sure as hell wasn't to marry Ryan in."

"Well, I mean…It was." Dylan said. "I know I wanted to break up with him when I was organising the wedding but I wanted to break up with him a lot before we even got engaged and I never did. I still agreed to get married. I don't know if I would have gone through with it."

"I completely don't understand that." Jen shook her head. "Why marry someone you don't want to?"

"Why shouldn't I marry someone I do?"

"I told you I'd supportive, stop trying to justify it to me. I'm being supportive. Your marriage to Ryan, that I wasn't supportive of."

Penny and Dylan discreetly looked at each other. Jen had often scolded Dylan for being a lazy wedding planner to her wedding with Ryan and had attended every dress fitting just to be involved. Only near the very end did Jen start realising something was wrong, otherwise she was so wrapped up in the wedding to notice the horrible relationship. Then again, Ryan had been an absolutely wonderful actor and was wonderful at avoiding Dylan's face when he needed to. Even so, his abuse had been much more emotional than physical, that had just been when he got really mad. Near the end and in the middle of the engagement was when it had gotten more frequently violent which was when Dylan decided to leave. If Ryan hadn't done what he did and she had ended up marrying him, she had no doubt that the physical abuse would have become as normal as the emotional; only she'd be trapped in a marriage then.

"I just…That dress was the only thing getting me through it." Dylan admitted. "It was for me. I've been dreaming of my wedding dress since I was a little girl. It's the one part of the wedding I cared about because it in no way involved him."

Penny looked at her sister sympathetically. "Dylan, if the dress means that much to you, wear it. Why settle for something else that you may not be so happy to look back on? Wouldn't you rather face an awkward conversation with Mort than regret your wedding dress for the rest of your life?"

Dylan chewed her lip. That dress was quite big. All Dylan had ever wanted was to feel like a princess on her wedding day, even though she'd never admit it in fear of sounding incredibly corny but the dress conveyed that. It wouldn't really work with Mort's small wedding idea.

"I'll think about it."

* * *

"Something smells good."

Dylan smiled as Mort came into the kitchen. "Dinner's almost ready, will you get plates?"

"Yes, ma'am. What are we having?"

"Lasagne."

"Ooh, sounds good."

Mort began setting the table as Dylan turned back to the stove. "I was thinking of going to look at dresses soon."

"Oh, going shopping with one of your sisters?"

"I meant wedding dresses." She heard him still his movements for a second but only turned back when he returned to putting the plates down. "It'd be easier if I knew what kind of wedding we were going to have. You know, should I be looking at big dresses or simple dresses?"

"You should be looking for whatever kind you want."

"Well, if we're having a small wedding at the court house or something, I can hardly wear a big dress."

"Why not?"

"Mort, we have to settle on what we're going to do."

He looked at her. "Why now? We've got plenty of time to figure that stuff out."

"Only because we're putting it off. We're telling people we're having a winter wedding so we have a year to plan but if we do end up having a big wedding then we're going to end up not having any time to organise and we'll keep pushing things back. That's if we have one."

"You know I don't want one."

"You know I do."

Mort sighed. "This always turns into an argument."

"It shouldn't be an argument. We should be able to talk about this."

"Fine. I think a big wedding isn't important." He shrugged. "It costs way too much money, you end up having to invite a ton of people you don't even want to talk to, none of it actually ends up being for you because it's just a show for other people and it's just one day. I would much rather keep it small and keep it about us. Trust me, I've done it before and it's more effort than it is enjoyment."

Dylan was silent for a while, digesting everything he said.

"That one day is our wedding day, Mort. It supposed to be the most important day of our lives."

"It won't be, not for me. I'm not letting our marriage peak on the first day. I want to get this marriage completely right. I care about the marriage much more than I do the wedding. Dylan, I'm sorry but it's really not something I want to do again."

She nodded. "Okay, I understand. We'll keep it small."

She turned back to the stove.

"Are you mad at me?" Mort sagged.

"I'm not mad." She said and he had to admit, she didn't sound it. She did sound sad though which was so much worse.

"Aw Dylan, come on." He walked over and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder. "Don't be upset."

"I'm not. It would be stupid to get upset over something like this."

"No it wouldn't but I just don't want to see you sad."

"I'm not sad." She lied.

"Do you really want a big wedding?"

"No, it's stupid and a waste of money and...everything else you said." She couldn't believe she could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She was such a baby. "Who needs the flowers or...the dress...?"

"You can still wear the dress!" He tried to reassure.

"No, a big dress needs a big wedding. No, it's fine. I have to wear something less showy anyway because all those pretty dresses have thin straps or no straps and I need to hide my scar."

"You don't have to hide your scar."

"Of course I do. It's ugly and everyone stares at it."

"It is not ugly. Nothing about you is ugly."

"Lying will get you nowhere."

"I am not lying."

She shook her head. "Mort, its fine. The day can still be special, even if it's just a quick thing at the registry office. It doesn't matter."

"If it matters to you, it matters."

Dylan was silent again.

"Dylan?"

"Why does our wedding only seem to matter to me?" She looked at him. "Mort, I understand that you've already had your big wedding but…I've never had mine. And it's something I wanted to do with you. Why were you willing to do it before but you're not with me? Why isn't this wedding as important?"

"It is!" He defended. "Of course this is way more important."

"No, not compared to when you were getting married last time, not if you're saying that you don't care that much. You cared back then."

"I just know now that a big wedding doesn't make any difference."

"It's not about making a difference; it's about having one special day just for you and the person you love. That's all I wanted."

Mort wondered if being so against a big wedding when he knew this was what she wanted was a bad idea. After all, if they did have a big wedding, he'd be mildly uncomfortable for one day but wouldn't it be overshadowed completely by the fact that he was marrying the woman he loved? That day would be good, no matter what. But if they didn't have a big wedding, would Dylan look back on that day for the rest of their marriage in disappointment? If she wanted the dress and the flowers and the ceremony and reception, shouldn't he just let her have it? It would make her happier to get her way than it would make him to get his, surely?

"Dylan, if it's what you want then it's what we'll do."

Dylan shook her head. "I don't want to make you do something you don't want to do."

"And I don't want to take away something you want. You're right, you should get to have your big wedding too and since I'm hoping this will be your only wedding, it should be with me. If not, I have to give the next guy impossible expectations to fulfil." He said jokingly.

Dylan smiled. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

Dylan smiled and kissed him. "Thank you."

"Hey, I should be willing to give you anything you want and if you want this type of wedding, that's what you should get."

"I want you to be happy too though."

"Making you happy will make me happy."

Dylan smiled again. "You always make me happy." She turned back to the stove. "Looks like dinner's ready."

"Great, I'm starving."

Dylan served up the food and they began to eat.

"Any plans for tomorrow?" She asked.

"I have an appointment." He said shortly. Dylan knew what that meant, he was meeting Doctor Kinney. He never actually said, just said he had an appointment and she never pressed on it. "What about you?"

"I, uh…" Now she felt awkward. "I have to get a few things from my sister's place that I left there after we cleared out the house."

"I thought you got everything?"

"Uh, just one or two more things. I haven't gotten them off Jen because, you know…"

"How did things go today, actually?"

"Better than they have been. Jen's finally admitted that maybe she was wrong."

"About?"

"You." Dylan half-smiled. "She conceded that you might not be that bad after all."

"Well she doesn't know me. Maybe I am." He joked.

"I know you and I know you're not so there."

"Oh yeah, if you say it, it must be true seeing as you cannot lie to save your life."

Dylan smiled but inwardly wondered if she should prepare herself for when he asked what she brought home tomorrow.

* * *

"So Mort, how have things been?"

"Good. The new book is doing really well so there's that."

"I saw. Congratulations."

"Thanks. Yeah, it's been great."

Kinney frowned. "You don't seem overly enthused."

"No, I mean…It's the best comeback I could have wanted."

"But you're not satisfied?"

"I am…Why wouldn't I be?"

Kinney stayed silent but kept looking at him.

"Fine." Mort sighed. "It really is great but…I can't help feeling that book wasn't the best one I could have put out there."

"You think it wasn't ready?"

"No, that book was ready and I was happy with it but…I have another one."

"Another idea for a book?"

"Another fully written book, sitting in my nightstand at home."

"And you think that one would have been better?"

"No." He shook his head. "Yes. I can't admit it."

"Why not?"

"It's the book Shooter wrote."

Kinney nodded. He knew about that book. "I thought you got rid of it?"

"I did, off my computer but I kept it on a flash drive. I just couldn't get rid of something I knew was such good work that I wrote. Well I didn't write it, not exactly…"

"Yes, you did. You had the talent to write that book and that means you have the talent to write something of the same calibre but Mort, keeping that book is not a good idea. It's just feeding into the illusion that Shooter was helping instead of hindering."

"I know that. That's not why I can't publish it. The story is about what happened to my fiancé, only she's the villain. She knows about it and if that story got published, she'd leave me."

"Do you really think Dylan would leave you?"

"Why wouldn't she? Shelling out what some people think of her just to make a quick buck and have a few more people think I'm a good author?"

"If you know for a fact that this book will ruin your new life with Dylan, don't you think that's enough reason to get rid of it?"

"I know, I know I should. I don't see the point in keeping it since I know it'll never see the light of day but…I feel like if I keep it around and just have that security, I'll be able to write more."

"So you keep it as a back-up?"

"I don't know. I just know that I feel simultaneously better and worse for keeping it. I feel better about writing having it and I feel worse at the thought that Dylan could find it and hate me."

"Well, I suppose you'll have to decide which is a better feeling, security in your writing or security in your relationship."

"That was the case last time and it ended my marriage."

Kinney nodded. "Maybe think a little harder this time. Without alcohol. Speaking of, how are you doing on that front?"

"Fine, for the most part. I went to my book launch the other night and didn't drink. I wanted to at some points but I didn't. Dylan really helped. She won't drink either, even though I told her it was okay."

"Would you really have been okay if Dylan had a drink?"

Mort sighed. "I don't know. I don't think so. She knows it too. She won't do it."

"That's good of her."

"I know. She's so wonderful and I can't even get rid of some words on a screen for her."

"Mort, you can only do what feels right and if your relationship with Dylan feels right with that story deleted, I have every confidence in you to have the strength to get rid of it. Just don't stress yourself out too much over it. Maybe even explain to Dylan the circumstances. If she's as understanding as you say, she will be over this too."

Mort shook his head. Telling her wasn't an option.

* * *

Dylan was currently in her bedroom and not sure of what to do. Lying on her bed was her wedding dress, only she wasn't sure if it still was. Looking down at it, she really wished so.

_It's so beautiful. _

_I bought it when I thought I was getting married to someone else._

_I knew I didn't want to marry him at the time though. This dress was the only part of that wedding I was actually happy about. It's the only thing I wanted to focus on._

_You still bought it for a wedding that wasn't this one. Not to mention, the man you were supposed to marry it in shot the man you're marrying now and nearly killed you. _

_What would Mort say if I said it to him? Would he even care or would it bother him too much?_

Dylan sighed as she picked up the dress in one hand, holding it up and running her other hand over the bodice. It was definitely a beautiful dress; she didn't think anyone could deny it. It had a sweetheart neckline, strapless, with sparkling crystals that were then accentuated by a criss-cross of fabric for the bodice. The skirt was big and glittering.

_I can't help it. I love this dress so much._

Biting her bottom lip, she put the dress back down on the bed before getting undressed. She didn't know why she was doing it, maybe because she'd never wear this dress again or because actually wearing it would convince her of the right thing to do. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea at all but before she knew it, she was in the dress and standing in front of the mirror. She couldn't help but smile at herself.

"Hey honey, are you in…?"

Dylan turned quickly and inwardly cursed when Mort walked into the room, his words dying on his lips when he saw her.

"I- I didn't know you were home." Dylan stammered. "I didn't hear you come in."

"You look beautiful." Mort said, not being able to take his eyes off her. "I know you're going to kill me for seeing the dress before we get married but I don't care."

"No, it's okay. This isn't my wedding dress."

Mort frowned at her.

"No, I mean- It is. It's just…" She sighed. "This is what I picked up from Jen's today."

"You picked up a wedding dress? Was it her one?"

"No, it was mine."

Mort didn't understand but soon realised. "You had a dress when you were going to marry him."

"It was the one part of the wedding I actually wanted to focus on for a lot of the time, when I wasn't sure I could even go through with it anymore. When he was arrested, my sisters took it out of the house before I could even see it again, just so I wouldn't be reminded of anything. It's been sitting in Jen's attic until today."

"Do you want to wear it to our wedding?"

Dylan didn't reply straight away. "I don't know."

"Okay…"

"It's just…I know it might seem weird that I bought this dress for another wedding but I bought it for me, not for him. He never saw it and he didn't put a penny towards it. It was custom made for me, I went to all the fittings and described what I wanted, not what I thought he'd like. I'm not trying to convince you to think it's a good idea, I'm really not, I'm just saying that the only thing this dress meant to me was how I felt when I wore it. To be honest, I didn't want his approval. But I don't want to make anything awkward for you and I completely understand if it is. I just…I don't know. I love this dress but you agreed to a big wedding for me and I'm not going to do something you might feel uncomfortable with. I love you more."

Mort wasn't sure what to say. "If I say something that seems unfeeling, will you promise not to get mad?" He saw her face drop. "Okay, you don't get mad, you get sad but will you promise not to?"

"Yes."

"I don't care." He admitted. "Dylan, if you love the dress and want to wear it then do. You look beautiful, that's all I'll see and you'll be happy, that's all I care about. I know for a writer, I should be able to be a little bit more eloquent but I honestly can't find another way to say that you shouldn't be looking for my approval. You look perfect in that dress but I'm going to think you look perfect in any dress, I think you'll look perfect in sweats. I'm not marrying you because of what dress you're going to wear and if you look like you do now when we do get married, I'll be blown away but I can't consider myself anymore lucky than I already do that you're marrying me."

He was surprised when Dylan walked over and hugged him tightly.

"Why are you being so good to me?" She asked, sounding really confused.

"What do you mean why? I love you." Mort tried not to look out the corner of his eye where his nightstand sat. "I just want you to be happy. God knows you've made me happy. I don't know where I'd be without you. Not getting home from an appointment with a doctor to help fight addiction and my other problems because I wouldn't have been facing up to them." He said. "I don't know where I'd be if it weren't for you but I do know it wouldn't be a great life."

Dylan pulled back from the embrace to look at him. "I still don't know if I'm going to wear it but knowing that you won't mind will make the decision so much easier."

"Why aren't you sure? I thought you loved it?"

"I do. I've been dreaming of a dress just like this one since I was a little girl but…"

"What?" He frowned.

Dylan didn't say anything but instead looked down, and to the right.

"Your scar." Mort surmised.

"I told you I couldn't wear a strapless dress."

"Dylan, people won't even notice it. I didn't. It's faded so much these past few months; people will barely notice it anyway. Slap some make up over it or something and I'm sure it'll be invisible."

Dylan smiled at his wording. "People know it's there, they'll look."

"Who are these people? They don't sound like the kind of people we want at our wedding, those who are only interested in trying to make the bride feel bad. This is why I wanted it small; I don't want to have to invite people who'll make the day worse for us than they'll make it better."

Dylan shook her head and took his hands in hers. "It'll be fine. I won't let anyone ruin our day, even if they do try and take notice of my scar."

"You shouldn't let that scar make your choices."

"I know. I don't care about my other scar, the one on my stomach, do I? I just don't want it in our photos."

"Well you do but you're not worried about anyone seeing it."

She turned around and sat on the bed. "I just don't want anyone thinking about him on our wedding day though I suppose that's impossible."

Mort walked over and sat down next to her. He couldn't deny it but he didn't want her to think about it. "You know, if you do wear this dress, it means I've seen you before our wedding day. Isn't that bad luck?"

Dylan laughed quietly. "How much more bad luck can we expect to have?"

"Good point. Listen, I'm driving into the city to pick up some letters from Stephanie's office. Why don't you come with me and afterwards we can go out? We live in New York; we can find something to do."

She smiled. "Okay. I'm going to have to get changed first."

"No, I thought you were going to be wearing this?" He said, keeping his face straight. "I really only want to be seen with you if you're wearing the wedding dress."

Dylan laughed. "Stop."

"No, I'm serious. I would like to think people associate me with sophistication so I need you to wear this…All the time."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Oh okay, because I was considering taking it off and you could have done with that what you wanted but you know, if I have to keep it on…"

Mort looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Or, you know, you could take it off."

"But I thought you didn't want me to?" She teased.

"Hey, we're already on the bed, might as well make the most out of it."

"Okay but you need to leave first."

Mort frowned. "I actually think this is a two person job."

"No, I just meant I have to take off the dress and you can't do it because if I do wear it, it'll ruin our wedding night if you've done it before."

"I sincerely doubt that."

"I want it to be special. Just let me get out of it and then you can come back."

Mort sighed overdramatically and got up to leave the room.

Dylan titled her head as she watched him go. "Mort?"

"Yeah?" He looked back.

"I love you." She smiled.

"I love you too."

* * *

"Stephanie?"

Stephanie stood up from her desk when he walked into her office. "Mort, great. I wanted to run a few things by you about a few book signings and-"

"Oh, I just came to pick up those fan letters you called me about." Mort said. "Dylan's waiting outside. Rain check?"

Her smile faltered slightly but only for a second. "Of course. We do need to though, the book is getting a lot of publicity and I think it'd be best if you promoted it more. We need to have meetings and just really hash out the best route to take. It is your first book in a long time after all." She said as she got the letters. Mort was surprised by the number of them.

"I know, I know I've been a little lazy what with the new house and engagement and everything but I'll be better. I'll make an appointment with Claire right now."

"Okay."

"Thanks Stephanie, I'll see you later."

He took the letters and left the office. He found Dylan sitting on the side of Claire's desk.

"On a grill? Really?"

"Sure, it's pretty much the same except it's much juicier." Claire said.

"I gotta write this down." Dylan went to her bag.

"Hi Claire," Mort said when Dylan was preoccupied. "I gotta organise a meeting with the boss."

"Oh sure, Mort." She pulled out the planner. "I can put you in for next week. Tuesday at one?"

"Perfect."

"Alrighty then." She began writing down but was interrupted by her phone. "Excuse me." She picked it up. "Uh huh, okay. Will do." She hung up the phone. "Stephanie told me to give you priority so I guess we're looking at…" She scrolled through the planner. Stephanie had actually told her to reschedule with a less important client and give Mort his spot but that didn't sound as nice. "Tomorrow at nine-thirty."

"Nine-thirty?" Mort frowned.

"That'll be fine." Dylan interjected. She looked at him frowning. "It's morning, Mort. It's not going to hurt that much." She teased. She looked back at Claire. "Writers."

Claire smiled but didn't reply.

"Ready to go?" Mort asked.

"Uh, sure." She smiled. She got off the desk and turned to Claire. "Here." She took a post-it note on the desk with a pen and wrote down her email address. "Send me that recipe for grilled turkey and I will send you my spicy chicken soup recipe."

"Alrighty, wonderful." Claire beamed, taking the post-it.

Dylan turned to Mort. "Let's go."

They left the office and Mort smirked at her.

"You and Claire?"

"Hey, me and Claire need something to do when you and Stephanie are planning book launches. You help your career, we swap recipes. She's where I got the idea for that barbeque marinated steak. Claire likes barbeques."

"Oh, that was good."

"I know, right? I had to give up my red velvet cake for that one."

"You are making me unbelievably hungry."

"Me too. Wanna get food?"

"Tell you what, how about we go home, get changed and I take you out for a fancy dinner?"

"Fancier than barbeque?"

"Even fancier if you can believe it."

"Oooh lucky me."

Later that evening, after Mort had managed to get them a reservation short notice by maybe dropping his name, they were waiting at the bar to be seated.

"You're sure you don't want something?" Mort asked though his doctor's words were ringing in his ears.

"I'm sure." Dylan smiled. "Anyway, I gotta be up early tomorrow to make sure you get up early tomorrow."

"Nine-thirty…I'm pretty sure Stephanie's trying to kill me."

"Do you think she's going to suggest you go on a book tour and leave me all alone?"

"I don't know, maybe not. It does seem like something she'd suggest though."

"Oh no. Whatever will I…" Dylan frowned when Mort's face dropped at something behind her. "Mort? What's wrong?" She looked behind her to see an immaculately dressed older woman with brown hair talking to the host of the restaurant near the entrance. She was wearing a wine red skirt suit and there wasn't a hair out of place. Dylan didn't recognise her. She turned back to Mort. "Who is that?"

"Hmm?" He looked at her. "What?"

"That woman. Who is she?"

"Oh, uh…I really, really wasn't planning on this yet."

Now Dylan was really confused. "Mort?"

"That's my mom."

* * *

**So, should Dylan wear the dress? I posted a picture of the dress on the tumblr on my profile if you want to see it, it's pretty beautiful but still, iffy subject! I'll also post her engagement ring because I have a lot of fun looking up that stuff. Now we're going to meet Mort's mom! Should be fun!**

**Thanks for reading! Please Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Aren't you going to say anything to her?"

"Oh, I…I don't think so. Tonight is about bringing you out for a nice night."

"I won't mind if you talk to your mom, Mort. It'll hardly ruin the night."

"You've never met my mother. For that very reason." He looked back down at his menu.

Dylan had not only not met his mother, she'd never even really heard about Mort's mother and apparently, that was for a reason. He never really spoke to her himself so didn't have a lot to say about her. He grew up with his dad after they divorced when he was twelve.

"Mort, you can't avoid your mom. Just go over and say hi. She's sitting alone." Dylan said, looking over at the bar. Mort had his back to it and his mother.

"Shouldn't that give you a clue?" He didn't look up from the menu.

"Well if it didn't, I'm about to find out exactly what you mean."

"What do you mean?"

"She's coming over here."

Mort looked up quickly. "Please tell me you're lying."

"Nope."

Mort looked back and tried to not grimace when his mother spotted them and began approaching them. He turned to Dylan. "I apologise in advance."

"For what?"

"You'll see."

"Morton." The woman came to stand at the table. "It's your mother in case you'd forgotten what I looked like. It's been so long since we've seen each other, you see."

"Yeah mom, I got it. Good one." Mort nodded. "How have you been?"

"Oh, you care? That's a new development. And who's this?" She turned to Dylan.

"Mom, this is Dylan. Dylan, this is my mom, Eloise Taylor."

"It's nice to meet you." Dylan said. "Mort's told me some wonderful things."

Mort frowned at her until she discreetly kicked him hard in the shin.

"Dylan," Eloise said. "That's quite an unusual name for a girl."

Dylan smiled. "I'm used to it by now."

"Is this the girl whose life you saved from that crazy Callaghan person?"

Mort didn't even know what to say to that.

"Yes," Dylan said. "I owe Mort my life."

"Are you two dating?"

"Actually," Mort prepared himself. "We're engaged."

"Engaged?" Eloise repeated. "You're just divorced."

"Been divorced for quite a while now; been separated for even longer, over a year."

"And you're already engaged."

"Yes I am."

"How…Quick."

"Why wait?"

Eloise was about to reply when a waiter came up to her.

"Ma'am, your table is ready."

"Oh, thank you." She turned back to the two. "Well, this has been lovely."

"Are you meeting anyone here?" Dylan asked, making Mort look at her again. He tried to clue her in to shut up.

"No, I was supposed to be but there was a cancellation. I said why waste the reservation? I'm used to being alone." Eloise looked at Mort.

"Would you like to join us?" Dylan felt Mort tried to kick her but she stepped on his foot, making him wince. "You shouldn't be on your own for dinner."

Eloise smirked and looked at the waiter. "You heard the girl, bring another chair."

When she had sat down at the table, she looked at Dylan. "So Dylan, what do you do for a living?"

"I'm a photographer."

"Oh really, what kind?"

"Well, I'm kind of taking a break from work right now, a kind of sabbatical, but I mainly do fashion shoots and things for women's magazines."

"That sounds wonderful and now you're not doing it anymore."

Dylan looked at Mort who was giving her an 'I told you so' look. She looked at Eloise. "I'll get back to it at some point but at the moment I'm just enjoying being engaged and focusing on finishing up the new house."

"New hou-?" Eloise looked at Mort. "You bought a new house?"

"We bought a new house." Mort said, his finger wagging between himself and Dylan. "Both of us."

"How nice. Where?"

"Park Slope." Dylan said.

"Park Slope. That's quite a nice neighbourhood. Close to Riverdale." Eloise looked at Mort. "Aren't you afraid you'll run into Amy?"

"Mom, that house burned down."

"She lives in the city with her boyfriend now so we never see her." Dylan said. "Our house isn't anywhere near where Mort and Amy lived so it's not uncomfortable."

"I'm sure."

"Well we needed to live somewhere relatively close to the city because I work in Manhattan," Dylan explained.

"Worked, isn't it?"

"But we didn't want to be right in the city…" Dylan finished, feeling overwhelmed.

"Are you ready to order?" The waiter asked when he approached the table.

When they had ordered, Eloise frowned between the two of them, her son in particular. "You're not having a drink?"

"Oh, uh…"

"That's for me." Dylan cut in. "I don't like alcohol and Mort doesn't drink around me."

"Why should he give up something just because you don't like it?" Eloise asked. "Do you not eat tomatoes because he doesn't like them?"

"I like tomatoes." Mort frowned.

"It was a for instance."

Dylan was finding this meeting increasingly harder. "I, No- It's just…"

"Okay, you know what? No, you're not doing this." Mort said to her, sitting up. "Thank you but you're not. Mom, Dylan doesn't drink because I don't drink and I don't drink because when I start, I can't stop."

"What do you mean?" Eloise frowned.

"I mean I'm a recovering alcoholic, mom." Mort said as if he were saying it to a child. "I depend too heavily on alcohol and because of that, I can't have any."

"When did all this start?"

"It's been happening for a few years now, a long few years. Dylan was the one who helped me kick it."

"How'd she do that?"

"By being supportive." He said.

"Is that a thinly veiled criticism? I was always supportive of that silly artsy stuff you cared so much about."

"Writing?"

"And thank God I was, your father wouldn't have been happy until you were nose deep in something like law or accountancy, something stable. Me, I liked the arts. He hated it whenever I donated money to that sort of stuff. I'm so happy you proved that insufferable bastard wrong and made a career out of books.."

"Mom?" Mort cut in. "I just told you I have a drinking problem and dad's been dead for six years, you won."

"Damn right I did. Although now I can't blame him for this problem of yours."

Dylan looked at Mort with a shocked expression. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. She was trying to be polite but this woman was awful. And apparently she had money. Mort had never told her he came from that kind of background. It was intimidating to say the least. She couldn't imagine this woman meeting her parents or what she'd think of them or what they'd think of her.

"Mom, I'm the only one to blame for my drinking." Mort was saying. "It's just something I need to control."

"And how long have you been controlling it?"

"A few months."

"Before or after this engagement?"

"Before. I wouldn't have proposed to Dylan if I still drank, I wouldn't want to tie her to that."

"How noble." She looked at Dylan. "A recovering alcoholic is a much better husband."

"I think so." Dylan said before Mort could say anything. "My old boyfriend wasn't one and he tried to kill me so you know, that might be the key."

Eloise smiled with mirth. "Speaking of past relationships, have you met his first wife?"

"For the love of God, mom…"

"What? I'm just asking. It's not like not talking about Amy means she won't exist. You've been married before, that won't change."

"Yes, I have." Dylan said. "A few times."

"And?"

"And…" Dylan didn't know how to finish.

"It's fine." Mort said to her. "Mom, no one here wants to talk about Amy."

"I do."

"No one else does."

"I'm just curious; I thought you went for blondes."

"Oh my God…" Mort was so close to getting up and leaving the restaurant.

"I am a natural blonde actually," Dylan said. "And I was thinking of going back for the wedding."

Mort frowned at her.

"You weren't aware?" Elena asked him.

"I, no it's just- Really?"

"Well, I'm not sure." Dylan said. "I was only thinking about it. I thought blonde might be more suited to the dress."

"You already have the dress?"

"I'm…Considering one at the moment." She skirted around the topic.

"You're a natural blonde but you have brown eyes?"

Dylan shrugged. "Mom has blonde hair, dad has brown eyes."

"Why would you ever dye natural blonde hair?"

"I just wanted a change, after the first attack."

Mort looked at her.

"If we can talk about your past, we can talk about mine." Dylan said light heartedly but Mort knew her and knew she was just acting like it didn't bother her to talk about it. She wasn't happy about it but she was getting it out of the way before being ambushed. When she acted comfortable, people soon found it much less interesting. "After the trial, I went to Mort's cabin to take some pictures of the lake and when I was there, I decided to go for a change."

"So you met Mort when you were blonde?"

"Yes."

"Oh, so I was right. A thing for blondes."

Dylan saw Mort click his jaw in frustration.

"So, Miss Taylor, what is that you do?"

"A lot of things, dear."

"She meant as a job, mom. Stop being difficult." Mort said.

"I didn't realise that needing specificity was being difficult. I'll keep things simple from now on, for Dylan."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Mort, don't." Dylan said.

"No, this is ridiculous." He shook his head. "Mom, enough. Enough with the insults, enough about Amy, just…Enough. This is why I don't tell you anything. Why would I? You've known I was engaged for about a minute and a half and it's already unbearable."

"I may have only known about the engagement for a minute and a half but you've only known each other for half a minute more than that."

"I've known you all my life and I know whose company I'd prefer."

"Mort." Dylan said in a slightly reprimanding tone.

"It's alright, dear. This is what we do." Eloise looked at her son. "Isn't it, Morton?"

"Yup, every time." He nodded.

"How…Fun." Dylan was feeling utterly lost in this dynamic.

"Always." Eloise smirked as Mort glared at her.

Dylan did have a feeling she was in for a very long night.

* * *

"Well, that was…Something…"

Mort didn't reply and kept his eyes on the road as he drove.

"Why are you mad at me?" Dylan asked, looking at him.

"I'm not mad at you, I'm just…Mad…"

"Mort, you haven't said one word to me since we left the restaurant."

"Okay, you know what? I am mad at you." He said. "I wouldn't even go near the woman and you invite her to have dinner with us?"

"She's your mom."

"Yes! My mom! I don't tell you how to act around your parents!"

"I wasn't trying to tell you how to act." Dylan defended. "I just didn't think it would do any harm. I'm sorry."

Mort shook his head but didn't say anything more. He was just annoyed. This was not how he'd wanted this night to go.

When they got home, he walked in before her going straight for the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Dylan asked as she walked inside and closed the door.

"I have some work to do."

"Now?"

"Might as well."

He went upstairs and left her alone. She sighed and walked into the living room where Chico was sleeping on the couch. She sat down next to him and stroked his fur, feeling miserable.

* * *

_Dear Mister Rainey,_

_First off, I would just like to let you know how huge a fan I am of yours. Your books have compelled me for many years now and I cannot begin to describe how happy I am that you have started writing again. I have followed your career since your first book and I can safely say that the quality of your work has gone from brilliant to even better, which I did not think was possible. I would also like to congratulate you on your recent engagement which was mentioned in the same article about your book launch. You seem very happy and I hope it continues for a long time. _

Mort stopped reading the letter at that point, putting it down on his desk. He was beginning to feel guilty about the way he'd treated Dylan a while ago, ignoring her most of the way home and storming up to his office. She had apologised. This was a problem he'd had last time too, shutting himself away in his office. Wasn't he trying to do better this time?

He got up and left his office and went to his bedroom, opening the door. The room was in darkness but through the sliver of light coming through the door, he could see Dylan asleep in bed. He walked inside and sat on the edge of the bed, getting undressed. When he was done, he got under the covers. He looked over at Dylan again who hadn't woke up and wondered if he should wake her. He ultimately decided against it but kept his eyes on her for a while.

_You want this to be different. You learned from your mistakes with Amy and you're not going to let them happen again._

_So I'm supposed to let it go whenever she does something wrong? _

_She didn't do it maliciously and she apologised. You gotta learn how to talk instead of storming off to your computer. _

Mort sighed and turned to lie on his back.

_Do not make the same mistake again._

* * *

"Mort?"

He woke the next morning when he heard his name being called. When he opened his eyes, Dylan was standing next to the bed with a cup of coffee in her hands.

"Here." She held it out for him to take. "As a peace offering." He sat up and took it and she sat on the side of the bed. "I really am sorry for last night. I didn't mean to cause any trouble. I just figured I should try to be nice to your mom."

"I know, you were just being your usual considerate self and I was being my usual surly self. I shouldn't have taken it out on you. She just makes me so angry sometimes with those backhanded compliments and 'thinly veiled criticisms' as she likes to say."

"I will admit she wasn't what I was expecting."

"What were you expecting?"

"I don't know, just not that."

Mort was silent for a while before looking at the clock. "Seven-thirty? It's only seven-thirty?"

"You have your meeting with Stephanie this morning, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Couldn't I have woken up at nine?"

"Mort, your meeting is at nine-thirty."

"I know that."

She looked at him tiredly but amused. "How about you go shower and when you come downstairs, I'll have breakfast ready."

"With more coffee? I am definitely going to need more coffee."

"I know." She smiled.

"Of course you do." He reached up and kissed her lightly. "Okay, I'm going for a shower."

"I'll be downstairs."

Once out of the shower, he was in the middle of getting dressed when he heard a phone ringing. He realised it was Dylan's cell phone so he walked over and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Is this Mort? The fiancé?"

"Uh, yeah?" He frowned.

"Mort, this is Rhea Thomas from Supreme Magazine, I was just wondering if Dylan rethought the Rio offer?" She asked abruptly.

"The Rio offer?" He had no idea what she was talking about.

"Yeah, the photo shoot in Brazil for Carnival. I really need to know pronto so tell her to call me ASAP. I'm willing to up my offer ten more per cent but I seriously can't go any more than that. Considering we'd pay to fly her out and put her up, I don't think she can complain. Try to convince her not to turn me down this time. ASAP."

Rhea hung up the phone and left Mort incredibly confused. Dylan hadn't told me anything to any offers for work. Why would she turn it down? Finishing getting dressed, he walked down to the kitchen where Dylan greeted him with a smile.

"Here you go, as promised." She handed him another cup of coffee.

"Thanks." He took a sip. "So I was thinking, with the book finally being finished, why don't we take a vacation somewhere?"

"Oh really?" She looked excited at the thought. "Like to where?"

"Somewhere hot, I was thinking. Maybe Brazil."

Dylan froze for a second at that. "Brazil? Really?"

"Yeah, like Rio."

Her face dropped. "How did you find out?"

He took her phone out of his pocket. "You forgot your phone again. Rhea Thomas called, said she didn't want to take no for an answer. Seems like a scary woman." He said. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you say yes?"

"I wasn't interested."

"Why not? This is a great opportunity for your career. It's not just some fashion or celebrity shoot, this is what you wanted; to go out and take pictures of real people and actual events, not some set on a stage."

"I know, I know what I wanted."

"Then why did you say no?"

"Because I don't think now is the right time."

"Why not?"

"It just isn't."

"Dylan…"

"Mort, drop it."

"No. Dylan, this isn't like you, to turn down something you've wanted for so long." He was seriously confused by that.

She shrugged. "Well I obviously didn't want it that much then."

"That can't be true; there must be a reason-"

"I'm scared! Alright?" She said, frustrated. "I'm scared."

"Of going back to work?"

"Yes."

"What's there to be scared of?" He asked.

Dylan stayed silent.

"Dylan?"

"I'm scared of leaving you on your own." She admitted quietly.

"What? Are you kidding me?"

"Mort…"

"You don't even trust me to stay on my own in the house?"

"No, I do. I just…We've been doing so well lately and the last time we weren't together…"

"I went on a binge." He finished for her.

"It's just…Mort, it's only been a few months since what happened and Shooter and everything. I just want to be there to support you if it happens again. Not to mention that I like people not knowing where I am exactly."

"Dylan, he's still in a coma. He's not waking up. And if he does, he's in a prison hospital."

"As Mark proved, it doesn't need to be Ryan."

"Ryan sent Mark. He can't send anyone anymore. Dylan, it's over. For you and for me." Mort said. "I am not going to grab a bottle of whiskey just because you go away for a weekend. I know it's only been a few months but I am doing way better. I trust myself, you should trust me to."

"I do trust you." She sighed. "I- I don't know. I don't trust myself to not drive myself crazy wondering what's going to happen if I'm not here. It's irrational and it doesn't make sense but I just never want that to happen to us again. I never want to run out of our relationship with my tail between my legs again and I don't want you to start drinking because of it. I trust us so much more together than apart. It's ridiculous but you can't deny that things get messy when we leave each other."

Mort nodded and put her phone on the counter between them. "Call that Rhea woman back and tell her you'll take the job."

"Mort…"

"Dylan, if we can't survive one work trip away from each other then there is really no point in any of this. Call her and tell her you'll take the job."

"It isn't that easy."

Mort got up from the stool and walked around the counter to her. "It's not my decision but if don't this, I think you'll be making a huge mistake and you will regret it. I gotta go; I'll talk to you later." He kissed her and left the kitchen.

Dylan stayed on her own, wondering what she should do. She was still debating her decision when Mort came back from his meeting.

"Think any more on it?" He asked when he came into the kitchen and saw her coming out of the laundry room with a basket full of clothes in her hands.

"Yeah. I'm still not sure." He placed the basket on the counter and began folding.

"Well if you don't do it, you're going to be here alone."

Dylan paused her movements. "What are you talking about?"

"Every time I release a book, Stephanie suggests a book tour. I've gone a few times but when I started drinking more, I couldn't be bothered. Now that I've stopped drinking and started doing better, I said yes." He smirked at her. "Because I think it'll be good for my career and I trust myself."

"Alright, I get your point. Enough with the gloating and high horses. I'll call Rhea and tell her I'll take the job."

"But I like my high horse."

Dylan looked at him tiredly.

"Alright," He walked over to her side of the counter. "I'm going to go upstairs and answer some fan mail." He kissed her on the cheek and walked behind her to leave the kitchen.

"Wait," She put a hand out to stop him from leaving. "Uh, I'd like to know a bit about your book tour, where you're going and for how long."

"Oh right," He turned back. "It's gonna be three weeks, going to a few of the bigger bookstore chains around the country and doing signings and things. It gets pretty monotonous after a while but I think it's time I probably get back to that kind of stuff. I have two signings set up for here next week and after that, I'm going to Florida."

"So I'm not going to see you for three weeks?" She pouted.

"No ma'am."

"Well now you're going to have to get a cell phone."

"No I don't."

"Mort, it's just a cell phone."

"I don't want one."

"You don't have to get one of the high tech ones, just a normal phone. How will I call you otherwise?"

"I'll call you. Every night."

"What if something happens and I can't get in contact with you?"

"Call Stephanie."

"Stephanie's going with you?"

"Yeah, she's the one who does all the arrangements. If there's an emergency, she's probably the best person to tell anyway."

"Mort, buy a cell phone." She said firmly.

"Fine but you never remember your cell phone so you'll never be able to call me anyway."

"Let me worry about that, you just worry about actually getting one."

Mort frowned. "Are you alright? You seem a little…"

"A little what?"

"Moody."

"I'm not moody, I'm fine." She said. "Why would I be moody?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking. Did I do something?"

"What would you have done?"

"Maybe you're angry that I was so adamant you take the Rio job?"

"No, I'm not." She shrugged.

"Okay. It's not because Stephanie is going on the tour too, is it?"

"Why would I care about that?" He didn't reply. "Because Amy used to be?"

"Well, she wasn't crazy about the idea."

"I'm not Amy."

"I know you're not but…"

"Mort, I trust you."

"Alright." He nodded but still wasn't sure. "Is it about last night?"

Dylan looked at him, annoyed. "You know what I'm angry about right now? That you won't accept that I'm fine. I said I was fine."

Mort was silent before nodding. "You're fine. I'm going to go answer some fan mail, okay?"

"You don't need to ask my permission."

He looked at her for a second before leaving and walking upstairs. Dylan watched him go and wondered if she really was acting moody. Well, she knew she was near the end but that was because of his constant reminders of things that could make her mad. She didn't mean to be in a bad mood but maybe she wasn't as comfortable with everything as she was trying to be.

Mort had replied to a few letters when she walked into his office.

"How are you getting on?" She asked.

"Fine. Got a good few done so you know, chugging along." He noticed she was standing in the door way and wouldn't actually come in. "Is something wrong?"

"Was I really being mean a while ago?"

Mort had to smile. "No, it's just that you're not usually ever angry unless someone's done something really wrong. You're the calm one of the two of us."

She walked further into the office. "I'm sorry; I guess I'm just anxious about getting back to work or something. I'll be nicer, I promise."

"Okay."

She reached down and kissed him lightly. When they parted, she looked at his table which was covered in letters. "Wow, you got a lot of fans." She picked one up Mort had yet to get to and read a bit of it. "Aw, it sounds like this lady has a crush on you." She smirked.

"Honey, you know I don't like you reading fan letters." He said, not taking his eyes off the one he was reading.

"I don't understand why that is."

"Because of things like that." He said, indicating to the letter in her hand. "And my readership can be quite…Intense, hence why they like my books that are full of murder and gore and crime. The last thing I need is for you to pick up a letter from some crazy and start worrying."

"Why would I worry?" Dylan frowned. "What kind of things do these people write to you?"

"Usually it's how they identify with a character."

"Like an evil character?"

Mort looked up at her. "Evil?"

"The bad guy, I mean." She corrected herself. "Was that the wrong word? Did I offend your writing?"

"No, it's just…Evil…I've always wanted to write my characters with enough complexity to make them seem real, not just…Evil."

"I'm sorry." She said. She felt like an idiot. It would have been like Mort saying he liked how she shot a picture out of focus and not realising it was an insult. "It was the wrong word. You do write very well rounded characters."

"Okay…"

She sat on his lap. "I'm sorry. Again. I'm an idiot."

"No, you're just not a writer. Hey, it's not like I could come up with any good camera terminology."

Dylan smiled. "I better let you get back to work."

She went to get up but Mort held her in his lap.

"You're sure you're okay with me going away?"

"Do you want to?"

"It'd be good to get back into these kinds of things."

"Then I'm happy."

* * *

"We're here."

Stephanie got out of the town car and waited for Mort to follow her out. When he did, his attention was firmly elsewhere.

"Years of trying to get you a cell phone, you never would. Now you have one and you won't get off the thing."

Mort looked up from the device to Stephanie. "Sorry. Dylan's flight in from Rio was this morning but I can't get hold of her on her cell. I just want to make sure she got home safe."

"I'm sure she's fine. She probably just kept the phone turned off after getting off the plane. Come on, check in just started."

Stephanie walked into the hotel room and Mort followed. It was the end of the second week of his tour and to be honest, the monotonous part he had told Dylan about was fully set in. He walked up to the front desk.

"Mister Rainey, we're delighted to have you staying with us."

Mort nodded in thanks. To be honest, he wished this was his last hotel.

"As a gift from the hotel, we've upgraded you to the penthouse suite," The girl said. "We hope it's to your liking."

"Oh…Thanks. I'm sure I will." Mort said.

He went up to the room and away from Stephanie, wanting to be alone for a while. When he got inside though, he realised that wasn't going to happen.

He looked around the swanky hotel room. "Well, this is nice…"

"You don't know the half of it."

Mort turned, confused but his frown turned into a smile when he saw a very tanned Dylan standing at the door of the bedroom.

"Oh my God, what are you doing here?" He asked as he walked over to pull her into an embrace.

"I couldn't wait to see you." She smiled.

"So you flew out to Chicago?"

"Changed my flight in Rio." She smiled.

"You realise this isn't the last place, right? I'm travelling around to more states. You gonna come with me to all of them?"

Dylan smirked. "Do you want me to?"

"It'd make things a hell of a lot more enjoyable."

"Well I can't, I have to work. I gotta go back home."

"So you just came out here for one day? What was the point in the cell phones if we were going to use airfare?" He joked.

"I know." Dylan nodded. "But I am telling the truth when I say I couldn't wait. And I couldn't tell you over the phone, I had to tell you in person."

Mort frowned. "Tell me what?"

"Mort, I'm pregnant."

She was smiling at him but it dropped when he didn't smile back.

"You're pregnant?"

"I- Yeah. I thought you'd be happy."

"I just can't believe it. We weren't planning on this, not yet."

"I know but…We were hoping on having kids, weren't we?"

"Yeah…"

"Then what's the problem?"

"We're not married yet?"

"But we're getting married. We can get married before the baby comes. Baby, Mort. You and I are having a baby." She saw his expression. "Please be happy about this."

"I'm just in shock. I wasn't expecting it."

"Well neither was I."

"Are- Are you definitely sure?"

"Four Brazilian pregnancy tests tell me to be."

"But we were careful. When could this have happened?"

"My guess is the night of your book launch."

Mort nodded, still not taking the news in. "You're definitely pregnant?"

"I'm late and it would explain why I've been so moody lately." She frowned at him. "I can't believe you aren't happy."

"We weren't planning…"

"Yes we were." She cut him off. "We wanted kids. Now, later, what does it matter? We wanted children and we're having one."

"I just don't know if we're ready. Dylan, it's only been a few months since everything went down."

"I know that. You were the one who said it was time to move on and start trusting ourselves."

"Yeah, to work. Not to raise another human being."

Dylan shook her head. "Well, I'm happy and I'm excited and I'm going to do a good job." She shrugged. "And all I can say is…You're going to be a dad. You said that if we can't spend some time away from each other, then this wouldn't work. I'm telling you, if only one of us wants this baby, then it definitely won't work."

She went to walk out of the hotel room.

"Dylan, wait."

"Don't." She turned back to him. "Just…Think about things for a while because every time you speak now, you're making things worse. Call me in an hour or two and if you still feel the same way about this, we're going to have to have a serious talk about what we're going to do."

Dylan left the hotel room and Mort ran his hands over his face.

_What the hell am I going to do?_

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"How's Chico?"

"You're not getting him back."

"Penny…"

"No, he's my soul-mate. He doesn't need much looking after; he's anti-social so he doesn't need that much attention after I get home from work but he's still around if you're on your own. He's basically my perfect dog."

"He's not your dog. And not much looking after? You've been giving him his insulin injections right?"

"Of course I have. You're still not getting him back."

"We'll see."

"So, was Mort happy when you told him?"

Besides one girl working on the shoot in Brazil, Dylan had only told Penny before Mort that she was pregnant. It was only because she had to explain why she wouldn't be picking up Chico today. "Uh, he was really shocked."

"But happy shocked, right?"

"Not really, just shocked." Dylan sighed. "What am I going to do?"

"What can you do? You're already pregnant."

"What if Mort doesn't come around to this? What if he doesn't want it?"

"Tough." Penny said as if there wasn't another option. "He had sex with you, he got you pregnant. It's a risk people take when they have sex."

"Penny, I want him to be happy about this."

"Dylan, if he's the guy you should marry, he'll be happy that you're having his baby."

"What if he's not?"

"He's just shocked. I'm sure he'll come around."

"I hope so. I was so happy."

"You were shocked when you found out too, though. Don't deny it. You've had a few days to think and become happy about it, you probably gave him thirty seconds to immediately become happy."

"Maybe…"

"Dylan, the man wasn't even expecting to see you for another week. Seeing pregnant you? He was always going to be shocked. Just give him some time."

"I did. I told him to think about things, I left the room to let him think about things."

"How long ago was that?"

"About an hour ago."

"Does he know where you are?"

"I told him to call me."

"Did you remember your phone?"

Dylan's eyes widened and she rifled through her bag. "Oh my God, I can't find my phone! Again!"

"Dylan?"

"What?"

"We're on the phone."

Dylan froze as she realised. "You're supposed to be the nice sister."

Penny was laughing on the other end. "You fall for stuff like that every time."

"Only you would think it's funny to do that to someone who's already having a pretty rough day."

"Oh come on, it's going to be fine. I bet by the time you're back home, you'll be all smiles and loved up and nauseating."

"I think you mean nauseated. The only one who's nauseous around here is me. That reminds me; will you come to my doctor's appointment with me?"

"I don't think I'm the father."

Dylan rolled her eyes. "Mort's still not finished his book tour so he won't be home for another week. That's if he even wants to come."

"Fine, I'll go but why me? I haven't been pregnant before."

"You're efficient; you'll ask questions I'll probably forget. Besides, I don't want to go on my own and you're the only person who knows."

"Okay, I'll go. Listen, I gotta go but call me and let me know how things went, okay?"

"I will. Bye."

Dylan hung up her phone and put it on the table in front of her. She picked up the menu that was sitting on the counter and began fanning herself with it. She was feeling quite warm despite the hotel bar being air conditioned.

"Excuse me," She grabbed the attention of the bartender who was a few feet away from her. "Could I get a glass of water please? With lots of ice."

He nodded and went to get it for her. She stopped fanning herself with the menu and actually looked at it. She'd realised she was probably pregnant when she had started vomiting and being nauseous all the time. She'd figured it might be food poisoning but she hadn't eaten anything other people from the shoot hadn't and no one else was sick. Besides she'd been at a five star hotel so it wasn't likely. She had also been feeling so much warmer than usual but she had chalked that down to the Brazilian weather. Now that she was back in the US, she realised that her nausea, her higher temperature and her tiredness was all down to her pregnancy. She had a feeling that if she was going through all these things this soon, the rest of it wasn't going to be a cake walk.

She sighed and put down the menu when the bartender placed the glass of water in front of her. "Thank you." She said before picking it up and placing the glass against her forehead and down her cheek before taking a long sip. She considered going back to looking at the menu since she was starving but nothing looked appetising to her though it would have before.

Dylan had to smile when out of nowhere, a small white teddy bear was placed in front of her.

"I'm really happy." He said, his lips close to her ear.

Dylan took the small teddy bear into her hands and stroked the toy with her thumb. "Are you really or are you just trying to make me happy?" She asked as Mort sat down in the chair next to her.

"I'll admit, I am still shocked and still don't quite believe it but you were right, we did want a family. This is why I gave up drinking and go for sessions with Doctor Kinney, so I can have a life and a family with you. It's just the thought of it being so sudden is a little terrifying."

"I know, I was really scared when I found out too." She admitted. "I kept thinking it couldn't be true and then I was thinking I couldn't stay in Brazil, I had to come home but the more I thought about it, the more I think we're ready. We're no experts but who is with the first kid? We went through all that shit last year and here we are. If we can get through that, I think we can get through anything and if anything is loving our baby unconditionally, I really don't think we'll be that challenged."

"Not with that aspect, no. Just the thought of actually being responsible for keeping another mini human alive…That's daunting."

"We have nine months to prepare." She shrugged.

"Dylan?"

The two turned when Stephanie came up behind them.

"Don't say anything yet." Mort said quietly as she approached them. Dylan kept the teddy bear out of sight.

"What are you doing here?" The woman asked.

"Oh, I changed my flight in Rio to come out and surprise Mort." Dylan said.

"Isn't that great?" Mort smiled.

"Don't worry; I'm not going to distract him from work. I'm going home tomorrow."

"Well, aren't you two cute?" Stephanie asked. "Excuse me."

She walked off and Dylan frowned at her reaction.

"That was strange..."

"She'll be fine." Mort said, not even taking notice. That didn't make Dylan feel better. He got up and took her hand. "Let's go back to the room and call room service."

"Oh my God, that sounds so good. I have been travelling for about fourteen hours."

"Oh so you were the one who used the shower. I guess I did get that cleaning lady fired for nothing."

Dylan smiled and tapped his arm. "All I want to do is lie in bed and eat something that doesn't make me nauseous."

"Oh boy, I was not expecting to hear that stuff so soon."

"Try living with it."

Once they were up in the room and Dylan had changed into pyjamas to be more comfortable, she was lounging on the bed as Mort called room service. When he hung up, he joined her.

"So have you told anyone else?"

"Well, I hung out with the producer of the shoot, Imogen, a lot and when I started feeling sick, she suggested could I be pregnant. After the test came back positive, I was freaking out so I told her but she won't say it to anyone. Other than that though, just Penny." Dylan said. "I called her about Chico and I couldn't resist. She won't tell anyone either though. I can't wait until you're finished this book tour and we can tell everyone together."

Mort seemed to hesitate. "I think we should wait."

"Wait?" She frowned. "Why?"

"It's still really early. We don't know what's going to happen."

Dylan realised. "Oh my God, I'm so stupid. I didn't even think about how you went through this before."

"No, that was different. This time will have a much happier ending but still, best not to count our chickens."

"I didn't even realise that's why you might be nervous. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, this is when we should be excited." He said but he had to admit to himself, it was a nerve wrecking thought. He didn't know what he would do if it happened again and with Dylan? It'd kill him.

_It won't happen again._

Dylan smiled at him. "And if everything goes to plan, God willing, I think it's best that we move the wedding up."

"You want to move up the date?"

"Yes." She nodded. "To now."

"Now?" He asked incredulously.

"Not right now but soon. Very soon, like before I begin showing?"

Mort shook his head. "There's no time…"

"I know, I know there's no time to plan anything but let's not plan anything, let's just do it."

"Let's just do it? Dylan, you're the one who wanted the big wedding."

"I know but that's before I found out I was pregnant. I don't want to be a big, pregnant bride. Think of the photos."

Mort did chuckle at the image.

"See?" Dylan said with her own smile. "It'll look like a shotgun wedding. And honestly I don't think I'm going to be able to pull off white at that size. Also, I don't think anyone will believe me in white."

"That's true."

"So, can we please move the wedding up?" She asked.

Mort reached over and kissed her lightly. "We'll do whatever you want."

To be honest, Mort was delighted she'd had this idea. He hadn't wanted a big wedding from the start. He was getting a kid and that kid was already doing him favours.

"Great. I'll try and make an appointment at the court house for when you come home. Let's just get things done as soon as possible."

"I've gone from being understanding to slightly offended." Mort joked.

"It'll still be a special day; it'll just be a whole lot sooner." She replied. She was silent for a few more seconds. "Just one more thing."

"What?" Mort asked.

"I don't want to tell my family we're moving the date up."

Mort frowned at her. "You don't?"

"No. I know if we tell them then they'll all get involved and before you or I know it, it'll be this big thing and they'll want to host…Things and just, no. I want it to be you and me and whoever's in here." She put a hand on her stomach. "We don't need anyone else."

She was really pleasantly surprising him tonight. He couldn't act like he loved the decision though. He put his hand on her stomach. "Okay, if you want."

"The only person I want to tell is Penny, mainly because she won't try and suggest anything; she'll just go along with it."

"Yeah, I don't see her as the blushing bridesmaid type."

"I think if I asked her to be a bridesmaid, she'd punch me, baby or no baby. But no bridesmaids. Besides, it's a good thing we're not having a big, expensive wedding. We need to save now that there's a baby on the way." She smiled at him. "We're having a baby."

"Yes, we are." Mort smiled, taking her into his arms.

"Think of any names yet?"

"Dylan, I've known for about two hours."

"Okay, I was just wondering." She said. She was silent for a while. "Any names you've always liked?"

"Counting our chickens, remember? Let's not pick out the kid's college just yet."

"I'm sorry, I'm excited. I'll stop."

"Do you have names picked out?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, just names I've always liked."

"Such as?"

"Okay…What about something like Belle?"

"Belle…" Mort considered.

"Or Ariel?"

"Are you naming Disney princesses?"

"Pocahontas?"

"Stop it."

"Sorry."

Mort had to chuckle at her. It was easy to see she was excited now that he knew too and was onboard. He didn't find it very funny though when she grimaced.

"Excuse me."

She walked off quickly and a few seconds later, Mort heard retching coming from the bathroom. He walked over to the door.

"Sweetie, you okay in there?"

"I'm…Fine…" She retched some more.

Mort couldn't help but feel bad for her. Once she was done and brushed her teeth, she came back out.

"Sorry about that. I've been so nauseous lately though, it's practically a relief. Sorry, am I being gross?"

"You saw me vomit first." He shrugged. "I really don't care."

"I do. It's so unattractive." She looked down at herself into her blue string top and pyjama pants with her high ponytail. "Actually, you might not being seeing attractive for a while."

He took her waist in his hands, pulling her close. "You really underestimate my fetish for froggie pyjamas."

Dylan laughed. "Stop. You don't have to try and make me feel better."

"Oh hey, I'm not. I really don't have to try to be attracted to you. I thought that was clear pretty much all the time."

"Aw, that's sweet." Dylan smiled. "But seriously, I am so not in the mood. I'm sorry."

"Excuse me, I can complement my future wife without looking for sex and besides, is it even safe?"

"Yes." She nodded. He raised an eyebrow at her quick reply. "I looked it up when I decided to come out here but all that time travelling and other stuff…" She looked back at the bathroom then back to him before shrugging. "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologising." He said as he led her back over to the bed. "It's fine. Anyway, food will be here soon. Think you'll manage to keep something down?"

"Hopefully." She lay down on the bed with a yawn.

"So, you never told me how Brazil was."

"Oh yeah," She sat back up with a smile. "It was amazing. So vibrant and crazy, they really know how to put on a show. I got some really good photographs too, wanna see?"

"Of course."

She got her camera and got back onto the bed, showing him the images.

"Whoa, that does look crazy." He said, looking at the pictures of parades and parties. "Was it dangerous?"

"Not really for us since we had security with the magazine but I did get this really sad photograph here," She went through the photos until she found it. "Here it is."

Mort looked at it and saw it was a picture of an obviously homeless girl, about eight or nine, in old clothes looking up at the spectacles of the parade with everyone enjoying themselves around her. She seemed in awe of the celebrations but Dylan was right, it was sad to see everyone partying and celebrating and not paying attention to the obvious poverty just out of sight. The juxtaposition between the poor girl and all the money spent on the parade was plain to see. "Wow. Dylan, this is an amazing photograph."

"Yeah, I kinda feel bad for taking it though. I asked the guide to talk to her after I took it and from what they told me, her name is Rosalita and she lives with her mom and her brother and goes out every night to beg."

"Did you give her any money?"

"I gave her all the money I had on me." She grimaced.

"That mothering instinct of yours is going to cause a few problems with making our kid spoilt, isn't it?"

"Her story was so sad, I couldn't help it! I wouldn't have been able to keep this photograph if I didn't. I would have felt too guilty."

"Well, this photograph is amazing."

"I just hope it gets used. It's not really fashion magazine material."

The conversation ceased when there was knock at the door.

"That's probably the food." Mort said, getting up. He handed Dylan her camera and she continued to look at the photo, looking at the child in it and thinking about her own future son or daughter who she hoped would have everything they'd ever want. Mort definitely wasn't wrong about her maternal instinct; he'd even noticed it after only knowing her a few days. All she'd ever wanted was a family, a husband and children to share her life with and it didn't seem real that she might finally be getting that.

Once Mort came back with the food, they began eating, him a lot more than her, who could only graze.

"So what happens now?" Mort asked.

"I just wait to see if Rhea wants to picture in the magazine."

"I meant with the pregnancy." He smiled.

"Oh. Well I have a doctor's appointment in two days so I'll find out whatever I need to know then."

"Two days?"

"It's all I could get and I have to do it as soon as possible."

"Maybe I should end the tour early, go with you." He said, kind of hoping she said yes. He was sick of hotel rooms and planes and cars.

"No, not at all. I'll be fine; Penny is going to come with me. It's not anything, it's just talking about pre-natal vitamins and going over family history, which reminds me, just let me know if anyone in your family has something we should tell the doctor. Diabetes or something."

"Yeah, I'll…I'll try and think." He said, feeling overwhelmed again.

After they were finished eating, Dylan couldn't help but doze off and Mort wouldn't wake her. Even without being pregnant, she must have been exhausted from all the travelling she'd been doing. Mort looked down at her with a myriad of thoughts running through his head.

Getting up from the bed, he grabbed his new cell phone and walked out of the bedroom to call Doctor Kinney's office and make an appointment for as soon as he got home.

* * *

"Hey buddy."

Dylan crouched down as Chico walked over to her in his half-hearted attempted to be excited at seeing her.

"How'd things end up going?" Penny asked.

Dylan stood up to face her sister. "Really well. Right after I called you, he came and found me and told me he was happy."

"Aw, I'm so happy for you. So is he going to end his book tour early to come home or…?"

"No, he suggested it but I told him not to. It's only a week."

Penny couldn't help but notice that Dylan seemed hesitant about something. "What?"

"It's just…When Mort's agent saw me there, she acted really weird."

"What do you mean?"

"As in she was shocked when she saw me first but then she got this really, wide fake smile."

"Fake smile?"

"You know the kind where you act like you're fine but you're really screaming inside. Then, she just walked away and I didn't see her again."

"Why would she care so much if you were there for one night?"

"I don't know. She didn't seem to like it anyway."

"What did Mort say?"

"Oh, Mort didn't even notice which doesn't make me feel better about the whole thing but then again, I'm not surprised he's kinda oblivious to these things."

"What things? What do you think is going on?"

"I don't know, maybe she likes having him to herself?"

"Dylan…"

"What? It could be true."

"The woman has been Mort's agent for years, you really think he wouldn't notice if she was coming on to him?"

"I don't know, maybe she hasn't been. I mean, first he was married and then he was drinking and then he wasn't contacting anyone but now, he's back to normal and not married."

"He's engaged with a baby on the way."

"She doesn't know I'm pregnant and engaged is not married. Maybe she did always feel something for him but he was married so she couldn't do anything and then when he separated from Amy, she was giving him time to get over it and then I came along and she missed her window so now she hates me."

"Okay, you've obviously been thinking about nothing but this the entire flight home and it's driven you crazy. It was just a look. She was probably just annoyed that you won't leave his side for five freaking minutes to let her do her job properly."

"I do leave his side!"

"Yeah but I mean, come on. The woman is trying to organise a book tour and her client's fiancé just swans in and demands his time? She doesn't know you're pregnant. She might actually think you were checking up on her which, to be honest, is insulting."

"I wasn't checking up on her. I didn't even think about anything like that until I saw her be weirded out by my very presence."

"She doesn't know why you were there! Checking up on her, distracting Mort, being annoying, she may not be right but she could think any of those things. Look, you love Mort, you trust Mort, Mort's not going to do anything so you have nothing to worry about."

"I trust Mort not to do anything but how can I trust that she mightn't make a move?"

"Even if she does, you trust Mort not to do anything about it and that's all that matters."

"I know, you're right." She shook her head. "You're right. I'm just being irrational again."

Penny nodded. Even if Dylan was right and she very well could have been, Penny didn't want her stressing about that, not when there was nothing she could do so hopefully, Dylan had believed her words. "So, onto nicer things; what are you going to do about the wedding? Move it up, wait till after the baby's born, just keep it where it is and be fat?"

"We're going to move it up." Dylan looked at her sister tiredly as they went to sit on the couch.

"Will you have time?"

"We're not doing the big thing anymore, just a small ceremony at the court house."

"But I thought you wanted-"

"I did but I'd rather spend the money on our family. Babies aren't cheap. Besides, I wouldn't have the time to organise a big wedding and get it done before I start getting bigger. And to be honest, I doubt I'll have the energy. I have to admit, I didn't think I'd be like this so quickly."

"What? Sick and tired? You grew up in a house that included two pregnant teenagers while you lived there and you didn't know this was going to happen?"

"Well I wasn't that old when Jen was pregnant, how am I supposed to remember what the hell was going on?"

"You were old enough to very clearly remember Morgan being pregnant with Danielle though. When the women in our family get pregnant, they really know what it's like to be pregnant."

"Oh God…"

"I know. Poor Mort."

"Uh, excuse me? I'm the one who's vomiting every twenty minutes."

"Yeah but you understand it way better than he does. He's just gotta stand there and watch as the woman who was supposed to be his blushing beautiful bride is blowing chunks and yelling at him all the time."

"I didn't yell…Oh God; do you think that's why he was hesitant when he first found out?"

"Dylan? I'm messing with you." Penny said. "Of course that's not true."

"I don't know, what if you're right though? I mean, when I was out there, I just fell asleep. We didn't even…"

"Have sex? Oh come on, you're pregnant, I know you two have sex." Penny said when Dylan frowned at her.

"Well we didn't then. What if this is just the start of it?"

"It is just the start of it! You're pregnant, Dylan. Like it or not, your emotions, your sex drive and everything else is going to be all over the place."

"Oh God…"

"But on the plus side, you can eat whatever you want. You're gonna get fat anyway."

"Penny?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

A week later, Mort was delighted to finally be home. It was late into the night so he'd gotten a cab home, not wanting to wake Dylan who would be sound asleep if the last time he'd seen her was anything to go by. He walked into the dark house quietly and left his suitcase in the hall, deciding he could unpack tomorrow. He walked upstairs and into his bedroom, stopping at the doorway when instead of seeing Dylan asleep in bed like he expected, he found his bedroom filled with lit candles but no sign of his fiancé.

"Dylan?"

"I'm right here." She said, walking out of the bathroom, wearing quite a short black baby doll night dress with a pink ribbon.

Mort's eyes widened when he saw her. "Whoa."

"I just wanted to welcome you home properly." She smiled as she walked over and wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him. "I missed you."

"If this is what I come home to, I gotta go away more often."

Dylan laughed. "So you like?"

"Oh yeah, I really, really like. Love."

She smiled and brought her hands from behind his neck to grasp his shirt and pull him to the bed. She pushed him back on it before straddling him and taking off his shirt. Once it was off, Mort took her waist and pressed her close as she brought her lips down to meet his. Mort's hands travelled under the nightdress to feel her skin as the kiss deepened. He was surprised when she pulled away suddenly.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing…" She said, her voice breathy before smiling at him. "Nothing."

She kissed him again and Mort lay back on the bed so her body was lying on top of his, his hands roaming from her waist to her thighs. He felt her hand reach up into his hair and comb through it slightly, causing a nice tingle to run down his spine.

He frowned when she pulled away again. "Dylan?"

"Sorry, no everything's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, all I want to focus on right now is making you feel good." She smiled, kissing him again. It only took a few seconds for her to part this time. Instead of making an excuse this time though, she got off the bed and hurried back into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her. Mort got up and put on his shirt before he walked over to the door. He heard her vomiting again and knocked before coming inside.

"Honey, are you okay?"

He heard her groan so he walked over and sat on the side of the bath, running her back gently.

"No." She pulled away from his touch. "This…You're not supposed to see this…"

"Dylan, honey, you don't have to pretend like you're not feeling sick. You're pregnant."

"But I didn't want you to have to see this; this is so not sexy…"

"Who cares? You know I find you attractive, why are you trying to prove yourself?"

"Because I want to make the most of what we have now because in the next few months, I'm going to be fat and unattractive and hardly what a new bride is supposed to look or act like."

"Wait, you're worried about that? Dylan…"

"What? It's true!" She said. "I was looking up when we can get married and it's not going to be for months. I'm going to have a bump, no matter when we do it."

"So you have a bump when we get married, the only people who matter that day will be us and we're both going to know you're pregnant."

"I know but our wedding night…"

"You really think you being a little bigger will turn me off sex? It's sex! As long as you're willing, I don't care what you look like, just as long as you let me do it. Honey, I'm a guy, I'm quite simple when it comes to these things. If you want to have sex, I'm pretty much up for it all the time. That's why you're pregnant."

"Yeah, and now the thought of doing it makes me sick."

"Is it just sex specifically that's turning you off or…?"

"No, it's everything. I feel sick all the time, no matter what I'm doing."

"Oh, that's good."

She frowned at him.

"Just saying."

"And this stupid thing isn't working." She took something off her wrist and threw it away.

Mort leant over and picked it up from the floor. "A travel sickness band?"

"The doctor told me it would help with my not-so-much-morning sickness but it really hasn't."

"How did things with the doctor go?"

She sighed. "Fine. Everything seems good but I'm scheduled in to get an ultrasound in two weeks so that'll be the real deal. The doctor wanted an early scan just to make sure everything's fine what with what happened a few months ago."

"Do they think that'll cause problems?" He frowned.

"She doesn't think so but better safe than sorry."

Mort nodded, continuing to stroke her back. "You feeling a little better?"

"Tiny bit. I'm sorry for getting your hopes up."

Mort chuckled. "Don't worry about it. Think you can make it to the bed?"

Dylan stood up. "I better just go down and get a glass of water. That helps."

Mort stood in front of her. "You get comfortable and I'll go get it."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." He kissed her forehead. "I love you."

Dylan smiled. "Love you too."

"Want anything else?"

She shook her head.

"Alright, I'll be right back."

He left the bathroom and went downstairs again. Dylan sighed and after brushing her teeth and taking off her makeup, got changed into more comfortable pyjamas and wrapped herself in Mort's robe like she'd been doing for the last week. She blew out the candles and turned on her bedside lamp. She was sitting on the bed when Mort came back.

"Here you go."

He handed her the glass of water and she sipped it back as Mort joined her on the bed, his arm wrapping around her waist so his hand could settle on her stomach.

"Hmm, I missed this." Dylan said, feeling much more relaxed now.

"Me too."

She closed her eyes as she rested against him. Mort looked around the room a little and had to smile when he noticed the small white teddy bear on her nightstand.

"Dylan?"

"Hmmm?"

He looked down and saw her eyes still closed.

"We're having a baby."

Dylan smiled. "Yes we are."

"I'm going to be a dad."

"Yes you are."

Mort couldn't help but smile.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Honey, you know I don't usually mind at all and I'm sorry but I really wish I could have a drink right now."

"Dylan, you can't not drink because of me, you can't drink because you're pregnant." Mort frowned as they set plates on the dining table.

"Technically that's your fault too."

Mort walked over and placed his arms around her. "Everything is going to be fine. You're the seventh daughter and the fifth to be pregnant. Your parents will be fine."

"Maybe we just shouldn't tell them yet. You asked could we not tell anyone."

"I said everyone. Your parents knowing is okay."

"Maybe not."

"Dylan, I didn't want it to be public knowledge in case, God forbid, something went wrong like last time. Are you saying that if something did go wrong, you wouldn't want your parents to know?"

Dylan sighed, knowing she would. "I just kinda wish we were married, you know? I know my dad will talk about us not being married."

"We're getting married."

"That won't be good enough."

"Dylan, we're not looking for permission to do anything, we're just telling them the good news. Good news, remember? We're happy."

"I know, I know. I'm just nervous."

He pulled her closer. "Everything is going to be fine."

She smiled and kissed him. "I gotta go check on dinner."

She walked back into the kitchen and Mort followed her out. "Anyway, it's probably better that we let your parents know before anyone else. Imagine them hearing it from someone else."

"I don't want to torture myself, thanks." Dylan looked at him. "Any thoughts on when we're going to have your mother over to dinner to tell her?"

"Dylan…"

"Mort, you have to tell her. You're her only son and if she used not knowing you're engaged to guilt you, what do you think she'll do if you don't tell her this?"

"But I don't want her trying to get involved. She'll wondering how much we spend on everything and talk about nannies and just…No."

"We're not getting a nanny. I don't need a nanny."

"You tell my mom, that's all you'll hear about."

"I still think you should just let her know, even if it's just a quick phone call. Will you pass me the gravy?"

Mort picked it up and went to hand it to her but Dylan bumped into him, causing him to spill the brown liquid all over himself.

"Oh Mort, I'm so sorry." She put her hand to her forehead. "God, I'm so clumsy lately. How-?"

"Honey, relax. Take a breath." He said. "It's fine. You know, I actually read that being clumsy is just a side effect of being pregnant."

"I'm beginning to not be able to handle these side effects."

"Don't worry about it, okay? It's just a shirt. I'm going to run upstairs and get changed, okay?"

"Okay."

Mort hurried upstairs so he could get changed and get back down as soon as possible. He'd actually read that women got more clumsy as they got bigger and Dylan wasn't anywhere near big yet but he would use whatever he could to make her feel better. She was freaking out over telling her parents.

He was buttoning up his new shirt when he spotted something jutting out from beneath the cushion of the armchair near the mirror. He walked over and pulled it out, surprised by what he found and how there was more than one.

"Dylan?"

She didn't look up when he came back downstairs. "What?"

"What are these?"

She looked at him to see him holding three of the bridal magazines she'd hidden in his hand.

"They're magazines. I…I had them when we were doing the big thing."

"Really? Then why did you hide them under the chair cushion?"

She seemed less able to answer that question which told Mort she was planning on lying about the real reason.

"Dylan, do you still want a big wedding?"

She was still trying to think until the doorbell rang.

"Oh God…" Her bigger dilemma came back to her with the sound.

Mort, seeing her nervousness, put the magazines down on the table. "It'll be fine, remember?"

"Okay, yeah." She nodded. "Go answer the door; I'm going to go...Stay here."

"Alright." Mort went and answered the door to see her parents on the other side. "Hey guys, come in."

"Thanks, Mort. How are you?" Constance asked, kissing him on the cheek.

"Good."

"Mort." Sam walked in after his wife and shook Mort's hand. "Where's herself?"

"In the kitchen."

Sam walked into the kitchen to find his daughter. "Hello sweetie."

"Hi, daddy." Dylan smiled as her father hugged her. "How are you?"

"Oh, can't complain. Your mom's after getting into one of those internet forums about those kooky hobbies of hers, you're lucky I managed to pull her away."

Dylan smiled. "It was only a matter of time after she learned how to use the computer."

"Hmm, she's finding all about new plants. The kitchen is a mess."

"Kitchens are supposed to be used." Constance said, walking in. She walked over to her daughter. "Hello sweetie."

Mort walked in after her and noticed that there was no trace of the magazines which had been hidden again.

"Hi mom." Dylan hugged her mother.

"What are we having for dinner?" Sam asked.

"Pot roast."

"Oh, my favourite." He smiled.

Dylan knew that and that was exactly why she'd made it. "And it's nearly ready so why don't you go in and sit down and I'll finish up here?"

Once Sam and Constance left the kitchen, Mort stood across from Dylan who kept her head down.

"Dylan, honey?"

"Hmmm?"

"You gotta relax. There's no reason they won't be happy for us."

"Have you met my father? Oh God, I feel like I'm sixteen all over again."

"But you're not. You're an adult who is living with her fiancé."

"Okay, let's just get this over with because the longer we leave it, the more anxious I'm going to get."

Once they were all sitting at the dining table and eating, it wasn't hard to notice how Dylan was only grazing her plate.

"Honey, is something wrong?" Constance asked. "You've barely touched your food."

Dylan looked at Mort who turned to her parents.

"Actually," He said, taking her hand. "We have some news."

Dylan took a deep breath and looked at her parents. "I'm pregnant."

"You are?" Constance asked.

"Yup. Mort and I are having a baby."

Sam frowned up at them. "Why can't just one of my daughters wait until after marriage to get pregnant? I mean, that's the usual progression, isn't it? You get married and then have children. I mean, what is it with you girls?"

"Dad..."

"I'm just saying."

"We will be married before the baby comes." Mort promised. "We've decided to move the wedding up."

"To when?"

"As soon as possible." Dylan said. "Just a quick thing at the courthouse. We don't want to waste money on a wedding with a baby on the way."

"Good." Sam nodded. "Responsible."

"Dad, we're adults, we know how to be responsible."

"If you think reaching a certain age makes you responsible, you're not as wise as you think you are."

Dylan rolled her eyes.

"Sam, leave them alone. They can make their own decisions." Constance reprimanded before turning to her daughter. "How far along are you?"

"About seven weeks."

"Does anyone else know?"

"Just Penny. We don't want to tell anyone yet."

"Is that because you want to be married before you do?" Sam asked.

"Uh actually, I lost a baby with my ex-wife so I asked Dylan if we could hold off until things are a little bit further along." Mort said.

Dylan looked at her father, annoyed.

"Well, that won't happen to you two, I'm sure." Constance said, trying to diffuse the tension. "How have you been feeling, sweetie?"

"Uh, the morning sickness is taking its toll but generally okay." Dylan replied.

"Oh, there hasn't been one woman in this family who's gotten away with not getting terrible morning sickness."

"Any tips on how to deal with it?"

"Wait until after the wedding." Sam cut in.

"Nope, that never worked." Constance looked at her husband tiredly. She turned to Dylan. "Just rest and take it easy is the best advice I can give you."

"That's what I've been telling her." Mort said.

"I just got back to work." She shrugged.

"Do you really think you're going to be able to keep working with a new born baby?" Sam asked.

"A lot of people do, dad. Maternity leave was invented for that very reason and I'm a freelance photographer which means I choose when and where I work."

"Well in about nine months, it'll be your kid that chooses. Are you going to get a nanny?"

"We don't need a nanny." Dylan was getting more and more frustrated.

"I work from home," Mort said. "So we won't need one."

"Seriously dad, can't you just be happy for us?"

"I am happy; I just want to make sure you both have all your bases covered."

"We have seven more months to get ready, we'll be fine."

The more Sam spoke, the less certain Mort was about that. When dinner was over and Constance was helping Dylan do the dishes, Sam approached him.

"Mort, I hope you don't think I'm not happy for the both of you. I just want to make sure Dylan's prepared for this. It hasn't been that long…"

"No, I know. You're right, it's not like we were planning this. I acted like you did when I found out. I'm happy now but that doesn't mean I'm not terrified."

"You think you'll be able to handle this?"

"Without alcohol? Yeah, I mean the craving is definitely still there but it's been much easier with Dylan giving up alcohol too and now she can't drink...I don't have the opportunity if there's no alcohol in the house."

"That's good because I can tell you from experience, this won't be easy. Having a baby is stressful and if Dylan is anything like her mother or sisters, morning sickness isn't the only thing she'll be prone to. Those mood swings…Just prepare yourself."

"That bad?"

"You'll be fine, I'm sure."

Mort definitely wasn't.

A few nights later, Dylan was lazing on the bed and feeling sorry for herself.

"I don't want to go."

"Then don't."

"I have to. They're doing it for me."

"Then just come home early."

Dylan sighed and looked up at Mort who was sitting next to her on the bed. "Could you call me and make up some reason I have to come home?"

Mort smiled. "Hmm, not a chance. I know better than to get in the way of any of your sisters' plans."

"If it's celebrating our engagement, you should be there too."

"Girls only, no exceptions. I don't want to be lynched out of it."

Dylan sat up. "Okay, fine."

She got up from the bed and walked over to the closet, wondering what to wear.

"What about this?" She asked, holding up a dress up against herself as she turned to Mort.

He shrugged. "It's…Fine."

"Fine? Just fine?"

"Honey, I'm not really big into fashion in case you haven't noticed." He indicated to his own worn jeans, long sleeved t-shirt and loose shirt.

"I have nothing to wear." She pouted, going back to the closet.

"There is absolutely no way that's true." He got up from the bed and walked over to the closet. "You have more dresses than anyone I've ever met."

"Yeah but they're just 'fine'."

"Dylan…" He moaned, leaning up against the closet frame.

"Well I don't know what to wear and you're not helping."

Mort didn't really understand why this was so dramatic but he didn't open his mouth, remembering what Sam had said. She eventually settled on a light pink strapless shift dress that wasn't too constricting. She wasn't showing yet but she'd noticed how her pants were a tiny bit too tight from bloating.

"Look, just try to enjoy tonight, okay?" Mort said when she was all dressed and ready but still moping. "If you don't, just come home."

"They're going to get it out of me."

Mort frowned. "That you're pregnant?"

"Yeah, they'll get it out of me."

"How? They have no clue."

"The minute I refuse to drink, they'll know. Someone will mention the word pregnancy and I'll crumble. I can see it happening right now."

"Dylan…"

"And I can't lie so you know, don't be mad at me."

"Is this why you don't want to go? Because you think your sisters will figure out you're pregnant?"

"I just know you want to keep it a secret."

Mort sighed.

"Maybe I'm wrong." She said.

"Look, if they find out, they find out."

Dylan still didn't look too confident but there wasn't any more to say when the doorbell rang.

"That's Penny. I better go."

Mort nodded. "Don't worry. Just have fun."

"Hmmm, I love you." She kissed him lightly. "I'll see you later."

"Okay."

She walked out to the door and left the house.

"Ready?" Penny asked.

"Not remotely."

"Well aren't you a ball of sunshine?"

"I don't want to tell anyone I'm pregnant yet and I know I'm going to come away with everyone knowing and everyone shoving their opinions at me."

"Hey, as long as mom and dad know first, you're fine."

"Yeah, say that to me in a few hours."

* * *

"Dylan, come on! This gathering is to celebrate you and you're the only one not drinking."

"You guys, I gave up alcohol." Dylan said. "Months and months ago. You know this."

"I can't believe you did that." Morgan shook her head. "Why bother?"

"Because I don't see the point in it." She replied. Out of all her sisters, Penny was the only one who knew the true reasoning behind Dylan's decision and that was only because Mort had told her about his drinking problem. This was good overall though. No one had tried to go into specifics like she'd feared. Maybe she'd get away with it. "If I don't want to drink, I don't have to."

"What are we talking about?" Lydia asked, coming back from the bathroom and sitting down.

"The fact that Dylan isn't drinking." Jen said. Dylan rolled her eyes at her. "What? That is what we're talking about."

"It's not a valid discussion, there's nothing to say about it."

"No drinking?" Lydia snorted. "What are you, pregnant?"

Dylan wanted to kick herself for rejoicing so soon but instead, she smiled, noticing how Penny looked at her.

"Lydia, you can't just say that." Penny said, trying to save her sister from having to lie or reply at all. "Dylan doesn't drink because she doesn't drink. Drop it."

"What? It was a joke." Lydia defended. "We're not allowed joke with each other anymore?"

"About pregnancy? Not funny."

Lydia huffed and turned to Dylan. "Are you seriously that offended?"

"What? No, I- I just…Let's just stop talking about it, okay? I can refuse a drink and not be pregnant, come on."

Her sisters frowned at her. No one had actually taken Lydia's joke seriously until the very bad lying in response.

"Guys, Dylan doesn't drink anymore. It's not the end of the world." Penny said. "Give it a rest."

"Dylan, are you pregnant?" Jill asked.

Dylan hesitated, knowing she couldn't lie.

"Oh my God, you are!" Morgan said.

"Is that why you're getting married?" Lydia asked.

"What? No! You guys, I..." She looked at Penny helplessly. She couldn't lie and she wasn't ready to tell the truth.

"But you're not even married yet." Jill frowned.

"Does dad know?" Morgan asked. "He's going to be furious."

Jen shook her head. "I can't believe you're pregnant. How could you not be more careful?"

"This makes so much sense." Lydia laughed. "You getting married because you got knocked up sounds so much more like you."

"Lydia!" Penny scolded.

"I didn't get engaged because I was pregnant!" Dylan said. "I've been engaged for months now! And what the hell do you mean that's so much more like me? Like I'm incapable of getting someone to marry me unless I trap him?"

"No, not at all. I just meant that whole fairy tale pretty wedding stuff isn't so much you but having some quickie wedding…" She saw everyone glaring at her. "What? I don't mean it in a bad way! She'll still get her perfect little life out of it, I just meant…"

"I know what you meant." Dylan said shortly, trying to get her to shut up.

"She didn't mean anything." Cathy said to her sister. "She just stuck her foot in her mouth."

"Excuse me, I'm right here." Lydia frowned. "I know what I was saying; I just didn't expect pregnancy to be the death of humour."

"Lydia, enough." Cathy glared at her.

"And anyway, where's the lie in what I'm saying? It's not like you weren't all thinking that having a baby right now probably isn't the smartest thing in the world. I mean, Jen, you've been saying it since they got engaged that she's making a terrible choice. That's all any of you say about her choices. Or my choices, come to think of it. Maybe waiting a little while after her ex tried to murder her would have been a good idea but then again, like most things, this probably wasn't planned."

Dylan stood up. "You know what, I'm going home."

She heard her sisters try to talk her round but she was too angry.

"No." She said. "It's bad enough that I didn't even get to choose the time to tell you I was pregnant or that I couldn't do it with my fiancé but then instead of saying congratulations or asking how I'm doing or anything like that, I get mocked about it? I have always been happy for you guys, no matter what you chose to do. I thought I might get the same back."

She walked away from the group and Penny got up to go after her.

"Dylan, wait!"

"No, don't try to make me stay. I just want to go home."

"I'm not trying to, just let me take you home, okay? I don't want you walking out there alone when you're upset."

"I'll be fine."

"Dylan, come on. I'm on your side, remember?"

Dylan looked at her and nodded. "Okay."

They left the bar and Dylan went home to find Mort in bed asleep. She got into her pyjamas and crawled in next to him but couldn't get her mind off her sister's words.

_I'm not forcing him into anything. Mort is happy that we're having a baby._

_He wasn't though._

_He was shocked. It wasn't anything to do with having the baby with me. He loves me and we're going to do a good job._

_I'm going to be a good mother._

* * *

"So Mort," Kinney said when he'd sat down. "What's new?"

Mort hesitated for a second.

"Dylan is pregnant."

"Congratulations."

"Thanks."

"Are you worried about something?" Kinney asked, noticing his trepidation.

"A lot of things, it's still early days and, well…I'm just hoping this has a happier ending than the last time. Not to mention…"

"Go on."

Mort sighed. "I'm afraid. Afraid that I might pass on what I have to my child, that they might be like me. I don't want that for them."

"Mort, it's not widely thought that DID is genetic, it's more a circumstance of trauma the person has experienced. The alcoholism on the other hand…"

"Is genetic."

"Not exactly. Dylan's father is a drinker, you say? Is she predisposed to alcohol?"

"No."

"Are any of her siblings?"

"Not that I know of."

The doctor shrugged. "So it's not certain that if a parent drinks a lot, the child will. And anyway, a lot of it has to do with the child growing up with the sight of their parent drinking a lot as a normal part of everyday life so it can become the same way for them but you don't drink anymore. Your child won't be brought up in an environment surrounded by alcohol, will they?"

"No, I won't let that happen."

"So there's nothing to worry about. Just be careful. When the time comes, be honest with yourself and your child and let them know to be careful."

Mort sighed. "Dylan is going to be way better at this than I am. She's so calm and collected all the time about everything. She barely batted an eyelid when I told her about my drinking problem and since then, she's done nothing but everything right when trying to help me. Although…"

"Although?"

Mort ruffled his hair. "This isn't a big deal, it's not, it's just…Her mood swings are a little hard to work with."

Kinney chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

"I'm afraid that the more stressed she gets, the more stressed I'll get. So much that…"

"That Shooter might come back?"

Mort nodded.

"Mort, you gotta start trusting yourself. It's been months since you've had a lapse like that. I'm not going to deny that things are about to get hectic for you but your life is headed in the right direction. Just keep remembering that and remember that I'm here to help you. If you need to make an appointment more regularly, don't be afraid to do so. It doesn't mean you're losing control, it means the opposite. Being able to admit you need a little more help when things get hard is the best thing you could do for yourself and Dylan, and your baby."

Mort sighed.

"Are you not happy that Dylan is pregnant?"

"Why wouldn't I be happy?"

"Maybe you think that with your problems and her father's problems…"

"No, definitely not. I always knew I wanted children with Dylan. She's the best person in the world to do this with; she's just a natural mother. She'll be an expert straight away but I feel like I need more time. I don't know if I'm prepared to do this. I'm still in the middle of trying to get my life back on track."

"Mort, this might surprise you but every single person feels that way in regard to being a parent. Everyone is worried they'll mess up and everyone feels like they could use a hundred years' worth of training. The fact that you made this appointment and are this concerned, you're on the right track, trust me."

Mort tried to feel a little better as he left the doctor's office. He knew he was doing this with the absolute right person but was Dylan? It was a thought he couldn't shake. It terrified him to think she might even consider it for a second that he wasn't.

He got home and looked around the house for Dylan.

"Dylan? You here?"

He walked upstairs and into their bedroom.

"Dylan?"

He was walking past the adjoining bathroom and saw Dylan in there, crumpled on the floor with her back up against the bath. She was in tears.

_She lost it. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck._

_Please don't let this be real. Please don't let this have happened again._

"Dylan?"

Dylan didn't look up at him. "I'm going to be a terrible mother."

_We didn't lose the baby._

_Thank God._

"What? Of course you're not." Mort frowned, trying to hide his relief. "Where did you get that idea?"

"Because it's the truth. I've always been a mess."

"Are you kidding me? You're the most put together person I know. You had bumps in the road and you came back from them stronger every time."

"What if we have a girl? I'm not a good role model for a girl; she'll grow up hating herself." She cried.

He sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "How could you possibly think that?"

"It's true! I didn't finish school, the only time I've ever had a shred of self-worth is after I met you and the only reason we got together is because we were both drunk, what am I supposed to do if our child ever asks how we met? Well, Mommy got drunk and fell into bed with a guy she barely knew and now he's your dad." She cried harder.

"Well, you could send them to me and I'll tell them how we met. That I was very sad and lonely until you came to take your pictures and when you did, I couldn't help always looking out the window though I didn't know why."

"And if we have a son, I'll probably just turn him into one of those awful guys because before you, that's all I was capable of comprehending. I am going to mess this child up so bad. I should just give it to you and let it have a chance."

Mort took her into his arms but had to smile at her having the same fears as him. It made him feel much more normal. "Dylan, you're going to be an amazing mother. The baby isn't even born yet and you're worried about the best way to teach them how to have self-respect. That is good parenting. You sorted me out, didn't you? If you hadn't come along, I would probably still be locked up in that cabin, drinking and wasting away."

"If it weren't for you, I'd be dead. What does that say about my past choices?" She tried to dry her eyes with some tissue. Mort pulled her closer, one arm around her shoulders and the other around the tops of her thighs as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Where did all this come from?" Mort asked.

"It's the truth."

"No it isn't and I'm not going to believe this just came on by itself seeing as you've been so happy up until now."

Dylan shook her head as she dried her eyes. "It's nothing, I'm just overemotional, like always lately. I must be torture to live with."

"No you're not, come on." Mort looked around. "What are you doing in here?"

"Morning sickness. Again."

"Oh, oh right."

Dylan frowned at him. "Why? What did you think?"

"Nothing, I just didn't know what to think when I saw you crying."

She went to stand and Mort got up too.

"I better start dinner." She said, going to leave the bathroom.

Mort caught her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Tell you what, why don't you relax and lie down for a while and we'll order out?"

Dylan looked back at him. "Really? You wouldn't mind?"

He frowned. "Uh, no."

"Great because I just want to lie down for a while."

"Well you do that. I'm gonna work for a while so you want me to call you in about an hour?"

Dylan kissed him lightly. "You're the best."

She crawled onto the bed and closed her eyes and Mort left the room, closing the door behind him. He went to his office and was on his computer for a while until he heard the doorbell. Hoping it hadn't woken Dylan, he walked downstairs quickly to answer it before whoever was there rung again. He found Penny on the other side.

"Hey Penny."

"Hey, Dylan told me I could borrow one of her dresses for a business dinner I have tonight. Is she here?"

"Yeah, she's asleep upstairs."

"Oh, I don't want to wake her. I'll come back…"

"No, don't be ridiculous. Come in." He stepped to the side and Penny walked in. Before he closed the door, he noticed a car parked across the street with darkened windows. It didn't look familiar but he'd seen it before, when he came home from the doctor. What was it still doing parked outside his house?

_It's probably just someone visiting a neighbour. Stop being paranoid._

"Mort?" Penny called.

Realising, Mort closed the door and turned to Penny. "Sorry about that. The dress, yeah. Dylan left it in the laundry room in case she was at work when you dropped by."

He walked out to the kitchen and Penny followed, standing at the counter as he walked back into the laundry room. When he came out, he handed her the garment.

"This it?"

"Yup. Thanks, Mort. Hey, you two change your mind about the big wedding again?" She asked, pointing to the magazines on the table.

"Oh...no, Dylan had those before she found out she was pregnant."

"Ah. Bet you're delighted she changed her mind about that, I know I would be. Actually I am anyway seeing as I don't have to be a bridesmaid now. Although…"

"What?" Mort frowned.

"The publication date on this one is from last week." She picked up the top magazine. "She bought this when she was pregnant."

Mort sighed. "I had a feeling she was lying. I thought she wanted to make it small but she seems sad now."

Penny nodded. "That may have had something to do with last night."

"Why? What happened?"

"It was just Lydia being her usual spiteful self."

"Lydia? Not…?"

"Jen?" Penny smiled. "No. I know, another sister being a bitch. You must be wondering what you're marrying into. Don't worry, the rest of us are delightful."

"What did she say?"

"Oh, just trying to be funny and failing and then got defensive when people told her to shut up. You could tell Dylan one hundred times that she's amazing and she'll never believe you. Tell her otherwise once and she hates herself forever. Lydia was just jealous at Dylan getting attention over the wedding and the pregnancy so she made some spiteful comment about Dylan being more suited to getting married because of pregnancy than getting some big fairy-tale wedding. Lydia's just jealous because Dylan actually moved on and started a life for herself and Lydia's stuck in the same diner they used to work at and Dylan won't waste her life away with Lydia anymore. They used to be really close."

"They did? I thought it was always you and Dylan."

"It was but Lydia used to be involved too. Then I stopped being an intern at the PR agency and actually got paid to work there. I realised how nice it is to have actual money and I convinced Dylan to stop depending on a bunch of low paying waitressing gigs and start getting serious with her photography which she did and now she's got her own office and reputation. I tried to convince Lydia to start thinking about her future too but that was a bust. She started getting bitchy and tried to get Dylan to blow stuff off hence why me and Dylan got closer and Lydia ruined things for herself. Now whenever one of us has something good happen, she gets bitter but never wants to show it. It's her own fault."

"It may be her fault but now Dylan is thinking that she's going to be a terrible mother."

"Aw, what? This is so frustrating; she was so excited before and now because Lydia decided to make some bad joke, that's gone? No, I'm not letting that happen."

Mort frowned. "What are you going to do?"

"Well, obviously all we can do with the baby stuff is reassure her and wait for when the time comes and she actually is a good mother but until then…"

"Until then, what?"

"Well, Dylan was upset to think that she was destined not to get her perfect wedding…"

Mort raised his eyebrows. "You want to plan our wedding?"

"You underestimate my power, Rainey. I'm owed so many favours in my business that I could get you two a wedding that would make Cinderella's look like a piece of crap."

Mort was hesitant. "I don't know…Is there any time?"

"Leave it to me. You don't need to break the bank and plan for a year to have a nice wedding. Trust me, Dylan will get what she always wanted and since it'll be such short notice, it won't be a huge thing so you'll get what you wanted."

Mort frowned. "How are you going to do this?"

"Well, Dylan already has the dress; you do own a suit I'm guessing so that's that taken care of. I'll start calling around today about seeing who can fit you two in."

"Fit us in?"

"For the ceremony. I've planned a few PR events in different places so I know a lot of people who could help."

"Oh."

"So, you wanna be the best groom ever and help plan a secret wedding for your pregnant bride?" Penny smirked.

Mort was a little at a loss, this had all come about so fast. It could be the solution to getting married a lot quicker than they were planning though and if Penny pulled it off, could be the best way to do it.

"Alright, let's go for it."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Mort?"

Dylan was surprised when she walked into the kitchen in the early morning and found Mort not only awake but dressed. She was still in her pyjamas.

"What are you doing up so early?"

"Oh, I…Uh, I got a meeting with Stephanie."

Dylan frowned. "Why? I thought you were relaxing after the book tour, what more does she want you to do?"

"It's just mainly a catch up, to see how the book is doing and stuff."

"So you won't be long?"

Mort looked at her. "Why? Is there something you want to do?"

"No, I was just wondering. I better go give Chico his injection." She got up.

"I already did it." Mort told her.

"You did?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Oh, alright." She nodded.

"You okay?" He asked, noting how she seemed a little put out.

"What? No, I'm fine." She shook her head with a small smile. "Just tired."

"Well, why don't you go back to bed for a while? You're not working today, are you?"

"No."

"Then relax. You deserve it." He kissed her lightly, his hand on her cheek. "I'll see you later."

"Okay." She watched him leave the kitchen. When she heard the front door close, Dylan slumped. She didn't like hearing that Stephanie was bringing him in for meetings when there wasn't really any reason to do so. Penny was right though, she had to trust him even if she couldn't trust anyone else.

"Oh God…" She grimaced when that familiar queasy feeling came over her. She hurried to the bathroom, beginning to wonder why she ever bothered to leave it. It's where she seemed to spend most of her life lately.

_No wonder he's running out of here. I'd rather not be here for this either._

* * *

"Was Dylan awake when you left?"

"Yeah, she'd just woken up. I told her I was coming into the city for work."

Penny nodded. "Good. Ready to go in?"

"Lead the way."

She walked inside the venue while flipping through the folder in her hands and Mort followed.

"So you can really get us one of these places? I would have thought there would have been waiting lists for months at Central Park."

"I know a few people and there are a lot of places to check out. Shakespeare Garden, Wagner Cove, Ladies' Pavilion...I'm sure we'll manage one place. There are fifteen options."

"Fifteen? There are fifteen places in Central Park that does weddings?"

"Yup so you know, we're bound to get lucky somewhere. I'm personally hoping for the gardens or Belvedere Castle."

Mort looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Castle?"

"Well you actually can't get married _inside _the castle but you know, around it which is nice. It's by the pond and the gardens so plenty of pretty photographs but no, no going inside."

"Damn. I could see myself on a throne."

"It's got something better for you," Penny said, looking down at her folder. "A limit of twenty-five guests at the actual ceremony so it has to be small."

"Now I'm hoping for the castle."

"And they don't allow you to put up any kinds of decorations so that will actually end up saving you money and besides, with backdrops like these, you're not going to need a load of bought flowers and whatever."

"It would be great if we could." Mort looked around at the greenery. "Dylan would love this."

"Hey, this is just the beginning. We got a lot of turf to walk today but it's best to get this done first. After we have the venue picked out, we just need to sort out a cake, your rings, a photographer, if and where you're going to have a reception, her flowers, a guest list and a way to get her to sign a marriage license without ever suspecting."

"Oh, is that it?" He asked sarcastically. "How am I going to get her to sign a marriage license without her guessing?"

"Lie. She's pregnant and tired all the time, catch her just after she wakes up or something and tell her it's something else. She's hardly Einstein when she wakes up, believe me. Before that though, you're going to need to try and get out of her the name of a good photographer, someone she trusts, someone who knows her well and might be nice enough to do it short notice."

"Well that should be easy enough; she used to be a wedding photographer. I'll just ask her about that."

"Also you need to scour around the house and find anything Dylan might have gotten to do with the wedding. More magazines, business cards, anything."

"Okay, and where would she hide them?"

Penny looked at him tiredly.

"What? I don't have a clue. I only found those first magazines by accident and anyway, what good would finding more do? There are loads of different options in those things."

"Dylan is organised usually so she'll definitely have been on top of things for her wedding. I bet you any money that those magazines have been scoured through and the things she likes are circled in pens with little notes written on the edges. Normal people do that and Dylan goes into hyper drive when being organised. I say she'll have this entire wedding planned without ever even realising it but first, you need to find anything she had."

"Okay fine, I'll try but after I found those last magazines, she might have gotten rid of them."

"Just look. And while you're at it, try and figure out if she's had any cravings yet or if there's a certain food making her sick. It'll be much easier to choose a cake and any kind of food if we try not to make her hurl."

Mort tried to peer into the folder Penny had. "You've thought a lot about this, haven't you?"

"I've just done this a lot before, well not this but things like this. If Dylan isn't one hundred per cent happy, I haven't done my job."

Mort sighed.

"Neither have I."

* * *

"One straight answer. That's all I want…"

Dylan huffed as she sat in the kitchen on her laptop. She was currently researching whether it was safe or not to use the chemicals she had in her dark room to develop photographs. When they moved into the house, Mort set up his office upstairs and Dylan set up a dark room in the basement but now she wasn't even sure if she could use it. She was getting mixed answers everywhere she went and it was frustrating her to say the least. She was having her first ultrasound tomorrow so she'd ask the doctor then. Until then though…

_Well if I'm not sure, I'm not doing it. I'm not risking anything._

She looked away from the screen when she heard the phone ring. She picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Are you talking to any of us yet?"

Dylan sighed into the phone. "To you and Penny. You guys didn't immediately jump down my throat when you found out."

"If it makes any difference, I'm really happy for you." Cathy said. "Everything's falling into place for you; you're finally getting the family you've always wanted, what's not to be happy about?"

"You don't think it's too quick?"

"Do you think so?"

"No. I've been through a lot with Mort, more than some people go through in a lifetime."

"So what do you care what the rest of us think?"

"Because you're my family and you should support me the way I've always supported you."

"I do support you, sweetheart, and I bet everyone else does too. It was just a shock; none of us were actually expecting you to admit you were pregnant. We just worry about you."

"You don't need to worry about me anymore. I have exactly the life I want."

"I know but you just…You got it so fast and I know you don't want to hear it but it hasn't been that long since everything happened with Ryan, it's been just over a year that you were engaged to him. It's been less than a year since Mort was married."

"But not separated. His marriage has been over for over a year."

"Like I said, it's your life but is even a year long enough?"

"I know. I'm not saying that I planned for things to go this way; I didn't think trying to get back into work would lead to a fiancé and a baby but I don't regret any of it. I love Mort and this is the life I want with him."

"Then all I can say is that I'm happy for you, I really am."

"Thank you, that's all I wanted to hear. Well actually, I wanted to hear it right after I told you guys when I chose to, with Mort but I'll take what I can get."

"What are you two doing about your wedding now?"

Dylan sighed. "Don't ask. I'm trying to just get a quick thing done at the courthouse but it is not as easy as it seems. We can get a marriage license and we can get it officiated but not anywhere near each other and the license is only valid for so long so we have to wait until we can get both done around the same time."

"Why don't you ask Morgan about it? Graham works in city hall, I'm sure he could pull some strings."

Dylan gasped. "I completely forgot about that."

"And you can start your application for a marriage license online so you can get your marriage license and he might be able to fit you in somewhere."

"Cathy, you're the best!" Dylan said, excited again.

"You see? Fully behind you."

Dylan smiled when she heard a knock at the door. "Hey, there's someone at the door so I gotta go but thank you so much. I'll talk to you later."

"Alright, bye sweetie."

Dylan hung up the phone and went to the door. She opened it to see an unfamiliar woman on the other side with long, messy dark hair and pale skin. She looked about Dylan's age but was swamped in a grey cardigan that was too big for her and a long skirt.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Mort Rainey."

"May I ask why?"

The woman looked at Dylan as if she was actually seeing her finally. "You're his fiancé. I saw your picture with him at the book launch."

Dylan realised this woman was a fan. She had no idea what to do with that. "Can I take your name please?"

"Clementine Wallace." The woman replied, tilting her head slightly to look inside the house.

Dylan blocked her. "Well Miss Wallace, Mort isn't home at the moment."

"When will he be home?"

"I don't know."

"Do you think it will be soon?"

"Miss Wallace, I don't think-"

"I have his book here." She went to get it out of her bag. "He- He signed it for me when he did his book tour, he was so nice. Do you think he'll be doing another one soon?"

"I doubt it."

"I hope he does, it's so nice that he's not hiding away anymore."

Dylan was getting a little unnerved but she shook her head to get herself out of it. "How did you get this address?"

"He gave it to me."

"Mort? Mort gave you his home address?"

"Uh-huh."

"I have a very hard time believing that."

Clementine seemed to be getting sick of having to deal with just Dylan now. "When will Mort be home, did you say?"

"I didn't and I'm not going to. Miss Wallace, this is our home, mine and my fiancé's and it's…It's just not appropriate to turn up here. If you want to contact Mort, he receives all his fan mail and tries to reply to every one so I suggest you get in contact with him that way. Now if you'll excuse me, I think this conversation is over."

Dylan closed the door but stayed behind it, waiting to see if she could hear footsteps. When she didn't, she looked out the peephole and saw the woman still standing there as if trying to figure out what to do now that her plan hadn't worked out. Eventually, she pulled a notepad out of her bag and wrote something down before tearing out the note and leaving it under a rock on the porch. Then she walked away. Dylan waited until she was out of sight before opening the door to go get the note. She hurried back inside before unfolding it and reading it.

"Aw crap."

* * *

"So what did you think?"

Mort shrugged. "I have a few favourites but even so, I can't decide which one she'd like most."

"Well, you're getting married too. Which one would you choose?" Penny asked.

Mort scratched the back of his head. "I liked the gardens." He pulled out his phone when it went off. "It's Dylan. Two seconds." He answered. "Hey honey, what's up? Oh yeah? Yeah, sure. Okay, I'll get them. I'll be home soon, bye." He hung up the phone. "I think I just got my first duties as a future father."

"What?"

"Bring her cupcakes from that little bakery by her office on my way home from the city."

"Ah." Penny nodded. "Oh wait, this is perfect. Use this to figure out what kind of cake she wants."

"Well right now she's craving red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and those little chocolate balls on the top, I'm under strict instructions."

"She craves those when she's not pregnant, don't let her fool you. The kid will be in college and she'll still have you running out and getting those at all hours if she can get away with it."

"Don't I know it. For the next nine months though, she gets whatever she wants."

"Damn, I gotta get pregnant."

"Well I get her whatever she wants because her morning sickness means she can barely leave the house."

"Actually on second thought, I'm good."

When Mort got home, he found Dylan waiting for him in the kitchen.

"Red velvet cupcakes, as requested." He placed the box down on the table.

"Oh my God, I love you." She pulled the cupcakes to her.

"Hmm, aren't I a keeper?"

"I was talking to the cupcakes."

"Of course you were."

Dylan smiled up at him. "Thank you, sweetie." She stood up and reached across the island, kissing him. She sat back down and passed one of the cupcakes to him.

"Oh, I get one too?"

"I want to make this conversation a little sweeter."

He frowned. "What conversation?"

Dylan sighed and pulled the note out of her pocket. "Does the name Clementine Wallace mean anything to you?"

"Uh, no?"

"Not even from fan letters? Or the book tour?"

Mort tried to think. "Those names begin to run together for me after a while. Although I think I'd remember a name like that, it's a little wei…" He saw Dylan looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "Perfectly normal. Why, what's going on?"

Dylan sighed. "She came by here today."

"Wha- The house?"

She nodded. "Kept asking if you were here, like she thought I was lying. Then when I told her she had to leave, she left this note on the porch for you."

Mort took it and read it.

'_I'll come back when we can be alone.'_

"Oh fuck."

"Yup." She nodded. "Ever deal with a crazy fan before?"

Mort suddenly got coy at that.

"Oh wow, you have." Dylan sat up properly.

"It's how I know Ken, first time I used him."

"Okay…Tell me what we're dealing with here."

"You are not dealing with anything." Mort said. "This is just another fan who doesn't know her boundaries. I'll fix it."

"How?"

"If she comes back, I'll let her know how things stand. If she comes back after that, I call the cops."

"Not Ken?"

"I don't think that's needed, this just seems like a girl who made up a persona of me and doesn't know how to separate that from reality anymore."

"Does this happen a lot?"

"Not a lot and I never take any of it seriously."

"Maybe you should. I mean, I read some of that fan mail…"

Mort sighed. "This is why I said I didn't want you to; I told you some of those people can be quite intense." He saw her contemplating something. "What?"

"It's just…She said she got our address from you."

"What?"

"That's how she told me she got it."

"You don't believe her, surely."

"Of course not but that doesn't answer how she did get it."

"I don't know."

"This girl thinks you told her where you live and she wrote you a note talking about how you two needed to be alone, it sounds like she thinks you two are having an affair or something. It's weird."

"Look, don't worry about this. I'll deal with it and we can forget all about it."

Dylan nodded. "Okay. How did your meeting go?"

"Meeting?"

"With Stephanie, the one you went into the city for." She frowned.

"Oh, that. It was barely anything, just a quick catch up."

"Quick? You were there for hours."

"Oh yeah, I went to a few bookshops afterwards, tried to sneakily check up on how it was doing really."

"Oh." She nodded. "And?"

"Good, it's good. How are you feeling today, besides being worried over strange women?" He asked to try and get off the subject of where he was.

"The same; tired, nauseous, sore. All those lovely parts of pregnancy you hear so much about."

"I really think we should bring up how sick you are at the ultrasound."

"Why? This is normal."

"To be getting sick this much? I don't know if it is."

Dylan went quiet. "I don't…I don't want there to be anything wrong."

"Neither do I but I'd prefer to know and try to get help than not know and hope for the best."

"Maybe we're just panicking. First time parents, they panic."

"Maybe we are and if that's the case, I'll be the first to admit it." He said.

Dylan nodded but didn't look happy. "Fine, I'll bring it up."

Mort walked around to her side of the counter and wrapped his arms around her. He brought his lips close to her ear. "I'm sure everything will be fine but just to be safe." He kissed her cheek. "Now, I had to fight off quite a burly soccer mom for these so…" He picked the cupcake up and pressed the frosting against her nose, leaving a smudge there.

Dylan had to smile. "I'm going to get so fat."

"You better. I want to be able to wrap my arms around a big, round belly."

"Yeah, wait until I actually do get fat and messy with no energy and you'll be running a mile."

"Hey, gimme some credit. If you can put up with me being messy with no energy, you can at least expect me to put up with it back." He kissed her nose, taking the frosting off it.

She stroked his arm. "I know. Oh, I have good news actually if you do plan on sticking around."

"What?" He asked.

"I was talking to Cathy today and she reminded me that Morgan's boyfriend works in city hall. He might be able to pull some strings and get us an appointment to get married sooner than we thought." She smiled.

Mort tried to hide his dread. "Really?"

"Yeah, isn't that great?"

"Mhmm."

It didn't take long for him to get in contact with Penny.

"We have a problem."

"What?"

"Dylan's gotten into her head that your sister, Morgan, her boyfriend can get us an appointment to get married fast."

"Oh shit, I completely forgot about that. Damnit."

"Maybe you can tell Morgan to say she can't help, that her boyfriend can't help."

"The more people who find out about this, the more chance Dylan will find out."

"Morgan won't tell anyone, will she?"

"I would like to think not but all it takes is for her to slip with Jill, Jill will tell Jen and…"

"Jen will tell everyone."

"Which I would prefer not to happen this quickly." Penny said. "On that topic, I have more bad news."

Mort grimaced. "What?"

"Well, I can get the garden but there's no free day for two months."

"Two months? That's not quick."

"I know but unless there's a cancellation…"

"Which is slim." Mort sighed.

"We could look somewhere else."

"Where? Besides, I know she'd love it there."

"She'll be showing in two months. She won't fit into her dress."

Mort ran his hand through his hair. "So it's the dress or the garden?"

"Seems to be."

"Well, it has to be the dress, I guess. She loves that dress."

"Really? She wasn't even sure about if she wanted to wear it in the first place." Penny frowned. "And in two months, she'll be in her second trimester. Much less chance of morning sickness which is happening to her all the time. I'm sure she'd prefer to not have it on her wedding day."

"But she didn't want to have a bump in her wedding photos."

"Well tough. If she didn't want to look pregnant in her wedding pictures then maybe you two should have been a bit more careful. Sorry but it's true."

"Hey, I couldn't care less if she has a bump for our wedding. It's not like I'm going to forget she's pregnant. Even if we do wait though, it'd mean she'll need a new dress. How are we supposed to get her a new dress which we know will fit and we know she'll love?"

"Actually, can she even fit into her dress? That corset is tight and she's complaining that she can't fit into her normal clothes as it is now."

Mort shrugged. "I don't know. She's only tried it on once before she even knew she was pregnant."

"Damnit…"

"Well, you gotta get her to try it on."

"Me? Why me?" Penny asked.

"Because I can't do it, she'll never try it on for me." Mort said. "You just gotta convince her to do it."

"And if it doesn't fit her, I'm the one who has to watch her be upset. I don't want that."

"You think I do? But we have to find out if she can fit into that dress."

"If she can't, we have a lot more work ahead of us."

Mort sat back in his office chair. "Maybe we should just admit that this isn't working out. We've been at it one day and we've already had to accept that she won't get her dress, we probably won't get the venue and this won't be kept a secret."

"No. Jesus Rainey, defeatist much? We can work around this; we just have to get creative. Come on, you're the writer."

"I write about mystery and thrillers, not dresses and covert weddings. Want me to ask Stephanie if she has any screwball romantic chick writers on hand to help?"

"Alright Mister Sarcastic, pipe down. We will fix this though. I am not going to just give up because we hit a small hurdle."

"Small? She might not even have a dress. That's what she cared about most."

"And we'll get her another one. Don't forget, you two are planning to get married anyway. She needs a dress."

Mort knew she didn't want to have a bump in their wedding pictures but other than getting married after the baby came, he didn't see how it was avoidable.

"It's not like she's going to be nine months, her bump will be tiny." Penny said. "She'll get over it."

"I guess…"

"Mort?"

Mort looked to the door. "That's Dylan, I gotta go."

He hung up the phone as she opened the door to his office.

"Who were you talking to?" She frowned, seeing him put the phone down.

"Uh, Stephanie." He made up. "I was just asking her if she knew anything about that Clementine woman. I thought she might have sent some emails or something if she didn't get a reply from me, you know the email that Stephanie uses for press and public appearances and stuff."

"Oh," Dylan wondered if he was lying by how fast he was talking. "Did she find anything?"

"Nope. See, I told you it's probably just some fan trying her luck. Nothing to worry about."

"Probably." She nodded. "Did you talk to your mom yet?"

"No and I'm not going to."

"Mort, you have to tell her."

"Why? Why do I?"

"She's your mother."

"I don't talk to her. I lived with my dad and my stepmom and now my dad is dead and Maggie's in Florida."

"Did you at least tell your stepmom?"

"Not yet but I will. You know I don't want to tell anyone yet."

Dylan walked over to the chair by the bookcase and sat down. "But we told my parents."

"That's because if anything bad happens, you'll want them around to help. I don't necessarily want that of anyone on my side of the family. I was happy to tell your parents this soon but not anyone else."

"What about when we're getting married? Won't you want someone from your family there?"

"I thought you didn't want to tell anyone we were moving it up."

"Yeah but we ended up telling my parents, I would just like to think we were as considerate of your family."

"I'll let Maggie know when it's happening, she doesn't travel a lot anymore but I'll give her the option."

"And your mom? Does she not get the same courtesy? She knows we're getting married."

"Courtesy? She wasn't very courteous when she was insulting you the minute she met you."

Dylan sighed with a shrug. "It's up to you, it's your family."

She got up to leave the room.

"You're my family." He said, making her turn to look at him. "You and our baby, you're my family and you're the only people I care about."

She nodded. "I know. I just don't want you to regret anything."

"I won't."

"Okay. Dinner's almost ready."

"Alright, I'll be down in a sec."

Dylan left the room and walked downstairs.

_Why would he lie? There's no reason for him to lie. You're just overreacting._

_He just said it, we're his family. Me and this baby._

Dylan went back to the pasta she was making for dinner, not letting her insecurities get to her.

* * *

"Dylan, come on!"

"I'm coming!"

"We're going to be late!"

Dylan walked down the stairs and glared to him. "I said I was coming. Excuse me for wanting to look presentable."

"No one's going to see how you look if we miss our appointment."

"We're not going to miss the appointment. Although if you keep standing here to talk about us missing our appointment, we're probably gonna so can we please just…"

Mort opened the front door and waited for her to walk out. She huffed and passed him out, walking to the car.

"What's going on?" Mort asked, following her out.

"What?"

"You're just a tad bit moody this morning."

"Oh am I? I'm sorry, sweetie." She said sarcastically. "Next time I spend the entire night in the bathroom vomiting, I'll try to keep in mind to just keep smiling so I won't bother you."

"You could have woken me." He replied as they stood on either side of the car.

"Could I? Thanks so much for the permission."

"Dylan…"

"Alright, whatever. Just open the car."

Mort sighed and opened the doors.

"And I need to drop by the office after the doctor's to pick up some equipment." She said as they got in.

"Oh…"

"What?" She frowned.

"It's just, I have…"

"Another meeting with your agent?" If she heard he had one more meeting with that woman, she'd scream. It had been days and that's all she ever seemed to hear from him anymore. It was making her incredibly frustrated and apparently it was beginning to show.

"Actually, it's an appointment with Kinney."

"Oh…" That seemed to make her quiet. He almost felt bad that it was a lie; he was really going to taste different wedding cakes with Penny, probably something Dylan would love to have been doing. "Well, okay. I'll go to my office and we can meet up afterwards."

"Listen, why don't you take the car after the doctor's? You'll be finished long before I am. Come home when you're ready and I'll get a cab or something."

"Why don't we just take separate cars if that's the case?"

"What? We can't even be in the same car now?"

"If we're both going different ways after the doctor's, it makes sense."

"No, it's fine. I'd prefer you to have the car. You'll need it for your equipment and anyway, it's safer. I'm perfectly capable of getting a cab home." Plus, it'd give him a better excuse as to why he might take longer than he should, he could just say he couldn't get a cab.

Dylan nodded. "Okay."

They drove to the doctor's in silence. Dylan wasn't the only one frustrated; everything seemed to be going wrong with this wedding. He couldn't believe he'd ever agreed to do it. Penny had come by the other day and though he didn't know how, had somehow convinced Dylan to try on her wedding dress which had ended up a little tight as it was so there was a slim chance it'd fit her whenever they had the wedding. That had only made her more upset and when he couldn't make her feel better with the truth; he wondered what the point of all this even was. If they told her what they were doing, it'd stop her being annoyed at him going out so often with vague excuses as to where, she'd probably enjoy things like cake tastings and being involved and they'd have a reason for doing things she didn't necessarily like such as making her feel bad that her wedding dress didn't fit anymore. Every time he suggested they tell her though, Penny shot him down. She pointed out that the reason Dylan had given up on her dream wedding was because she didn't want to spend the money and be stressed out. Even if they were able to cut costs due to Penny's contacts, Mort couldn't deny that this wasn't incredibly stressful and what with Dylan being stressed out enough already, it didn't seem like a good idea to add to it.

"So how are you feeling?" Doctor Benson asked when they were at the appointment.

"Fine." Dylan smiled.

"Dylan." Mort coaxed.

She looked at him before sighing and turning back to the doctor. "My morning sickness has been a little bad."

The doctor frowned. "How bad?"

"I'm sure it's normal." Dylan shrugged.

"Very bad." Mort said. "She can't even work or keep anything down. She's up all night vomiting."

Doctor Benson looked at Dylan. "That frequent, huh?"

"Yeah. But I bet it's nothing."

"No, Mister Rainey is right, it's always better to be on the safe side. For the moment I feel safe enough giving you a prescription for some medication but if you get any worse, even a tiny bit, you're going to have to tell me. You might have acute morning sickness in which case you might have to be admitted to hospital to regulate your fluids and fight dehydration."

That was exactly what Dylan hadn't wanted to hear. "Okay."

"Alright, let's get started then. Lie back please."

Dylan did so and the doctor began the exam. Mort and Dylan watched the screen. Eventually, a grainy image popped up which neither of them could decipher but one thing was clear, the thumping noise that came from the machine.

"Hear that?" Doctor Benson smiled. "That's your baby's heartbeat."

Mort had his hand by Dylan's head on the bed but looked down when she reached up to grasp his hand in hers. He looked at her and saw her smiling at the screen, her eyes glistening. He reached down and kissed her head.

"And there's your baby." Benson pointed at the screen. "Small but strong."

"So it's not affected by what happened to me?" Dylan asked. "There's nothing wrong?"

"Nope. From what I can see, your baby is perfectly healthy."

"Oh thank God." She cried. She looked up at Mort with a smile, making him remember exactly why he was going through all the added stress lately. "There's nothing wrong."

"Of course not. It's strong, like you."

Dylan smiled, feeling a significant weight be lifted from her shoulders.

Their moods were much better when they left the doctor's office.

"Are you sure you don't need the car?" She asked.

"No, you take it. I'll be fine."

"Okay, I'll see you when you get home." She reached up and kissed him. She pulled away and was about to turn to open the car door when he caught her and kissed her again, more passionately this time.

"I love you." He said when the kiss was over.

"I love you too." She smiled. "I'll see you later. Good luck."

"Alright."

She got into the car and drove off and Mort made his way to where he was meeting Penny.

"Ready?"

"Sure."

"You seem in a much better mood than you have recently." Penny noted. "Dylan stop acting like Hitler for five minutes?"

"Nice. We were just at the doctor's actually, she got her first ultrasound."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. How are things?"

"Great, the baby's perfectly healthy."

"Oh good. Now, to make your day even brighter, let's go test a lot of cake." They walked into the bakery and Mort was surprised by how posh and fancy it was. Penny whispered to him, "Okay, this lady is really nice and she's doing me a favour so we like her but she's super proper so you know, act super proper."

"Don't I always?" He quipped.

"And turn off your phone. She hates people taking calls in here."

Mort was well used to that practise as seemingly every place Penny had brought him had the same protocol. He took out his phone and turned it off. "There."

A suited woman came out from the back and approached them. "Penny, how lovely to see you again."

"Estelle, hi." They kissed each other on either cheek. "This is my soon to be brother-in-law, Mort Rainey. Mort, this is Estelle Riordan."

"Hi, thanks for doing this." He said.

"My pleasure. Are you both ready to get started?"

Penny beamed. "We can't wait. Estelle is an artist when it comes to designing cakes."

Mort looked between the two. "Let's do it."

* * *

Dylan shut the trunk of Mort's car and got back in, driving away from her office. She'd picked up everything she needed, a lot of camera stuff and was done in the city but couldn't help feel bad that she was abandoning Mort there to find his own way home. Deciding to be nice, she instead drove to where Mort had his appointments and walked up to Kinney's office.

"Can I help you?" The receptionist asked when she walked in.

"Oh no, I'm just waiting for someone." She sat down and flipped through one of the old magazines on the table, waiting for Mort to come out. She was there for about twenty minutes before the door opened and was surprised when it wasn't Mort who walked out.

"I'll see you soon." Kinney was saying to the man who was a stranger to Dylan. Once he was gone, Kinney turned to Dylan. "Miss Saunders, what are you doing here?"

"I…I was waiting for Mort."

"Mort?"

"Yes, he told me he was coming here for an appointment. Isn't he here?"

"Uh, no." Kinney said. "Mort doesn't have an appointment today, not until next week."

Dylan was severely confused. "Mort's not here?"

"No, I'm sorry."

"But…Where is he?"

_Why did he lie to me?_

* * *

"Now I get why Dylan is feeling sorry for herself all the time, this is awful."

"Yeah, I don't really know who thought it was a good idea to feed someone that much cake in one sitting. They all tasted like crap near the end." Mort nodded as they left the wedding bakery.

"I feel like I'm going to be sick. How is she doing this all day every day?"

"I don't know but I'm going to remember this the next time she yells at me for no reason." Mort said, turning back on his phone. Penny was doing the same. "Oh no."

"What?" Penny frowned.

"I have seven missed calls. I don't recognise the number though."

"You better call back, just in case. We gave the jewellers for the rings your number." Penny said.

Mort dialled his own voicemail and realised there wasn't a problem with the jewellers. It was much worse. Penny saw his face drop at whatever the message was saying.

"Mort? What's wrong?"

He hung up the phone.

"You have to give me a ride. Quickly." He said.

"Why, what's going on? What happened?"

"Dylan's in the hospital."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please Review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Thanks for the ride."

Penny frowned at him. "What? No, I'm coming in too."

"You can't. How are we supposed to explain you and I being together?"

"I don't know, I don't care. That message said she was carjacked? If something happened my sister, I want to be there."

"Well if that's the case, we have to tell her about the wedding."

"What? No. If we tell her now, it's all been for nothing."

"I'm not lying about why you and I are randomly together."

Penny huffed. "Fine, I won't come in but the second you find out what happened, you call me."

"I will, I swear."

"Okay. Go."

Mort got out of the car and hurried up to the reception desk.

"I'm looking for Dylan…Dylan Saunders. I got a message to get here, I'm her fiancé."

"Mister Rainey?" Mort turned to see a police officer approaching him.

"Yes. What happened? Where is Dylan?"

"Your fiancé is just being checked over as a precaution. She has a cut to the head but it's nothing serious, just a scrape from when the carjacker pulled her from the car and she fell to the ground. The pharmacy she called us from fixed it up for her. When we found out she was pregnant though, we thought it best to bring her in."

"Why? What happened? No one would tell me anything."

"We're still trying to get some details but from what Miss Saunders has told us, she was parked outside a pharmacy when a man in a hoodie and baseball cap opened the door to the car and pulled her out. She fell to the ground and the assailant got into the car and drove away. Miss Saunders said she didn't get a good look at the man but we're reviewing the security camera footage from the pharmacy that overlooks the parking lot."

"Can I see her?"

"Of course, this way."

Mort followed the officer and walked into the room to see Dylan refusing to lie back like the nurse and doctor were telling her to. Also there and trying to calm her down was her sister, Cathy. Dylan had a bandage on the right side of her forehead.

"I don't need to. I already-" She saw Mort walk in. "Mort! Tell them! Tell them I just did this and everything's fine. Tell them I don't have to do it again."

Mort walked over and stroked her hair to calm her. "Honey, you just have to lie back for a few minutes, just so they can see."

Dylan seemed to crumble even more at him wanting her to do it. "But nothing's wrong. We know nothing's wrong."

"Just lie back, please. For me."

Dylan was still for a second before lying back and letting the doctor examine her. If there was something wrong, she'd hate herself forever. She'd never felt more relieved when she heard that same thumping noise from earlier. Hearing that noise, she felt like she could breathe again.

"You see, everything's fine." The doctor was saying comfortingly.

"Can I go home now?" She asked when she was sitting back up after the exam.

"The police just have a few more questions." Mort said.

"I already told them everything. I don't have any more to say." Mort didn't know why but now that she had calmed down slightly, knowing the baby was okay, she wouldn't even look at him. He was expecting her to be like she was a while ago, grasping his hand and smiling at him.

"It'll only take a few minutes." Cathy tried to reassure her.

"Fine. Where is he?"

"I'll go look for him." Cathy said as she walked out of the room.

"I'll give you two a minute." The doctor left the room as well and the two were left alone.

"Are you okay?" Mort asked her.

"He took everything." She cried. "He even took my engagement ring."

Mort sat down next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "It's okay, we can get it replaced."

"No, it's not okay! It was my engagement ring, the most important thing I own and he took it from me! It's probably sitting in some pawn shop for a quarter of what it's worth because that asshole needed a quick fix or whatever." She tried to dry her eyes. "Not to mention my camera equipment was in the car and my laptop, that's at least ten thousand dollars' worth of equipment. I can't believe this happened to me. And your car…"

"Hey, I don't care about the car. I care about you being okay."

Dylan looked at him and Mort couldn't decipher her expression. She didn't say anything though.

"Is your equipment insured?" He asked.

"Yeah and everything on the laptop automatically gets backed up to my office computer so I didn't lose much, only the stuff I didn't get a chance to download yet which considering I was coming from work..."

"Well maybe you'll get lucky and something will get uploaded to your office that can help the police."

"Yeah because I'm always so lucky." She said sarcastically. "But I have the stuff registered under my name so if he tries to sell them, hopefully whoever considers buying them checks the serial number online and sees that they're stolen. Although they may not care."

"You never know, you seem to have all your bases covered."

"Except, you know, the part where I'm not an idiot."

"Dylan…"

"Don't. The guy saw an easy target and he was right."

Mort sighed. "What exactly did he do?"

"I was on my way home when I stopped by a pharmacy to get that nausea medication the doctor suggested. I got back into the car and I was reading the instructions because I wasn't sure about taking it when some guy opened the door and pointed a gun in my face and told me to get out. I froze so he grabbed me and yanked me out of the car when he saw my ring. He took it off me and threw me to the ground, got in and drove off. I'm so stupid."

"No you're not. You did the right thing, there was no knowing how far he would have went if you refused. We can replace whatever he took but I can't replace you."

Dylan looked at him. "Your phone was turned off when they tried to call you. They had to call Cathy."

"Yeah, you need to turn it off when you're in there." He made up.

"In with Kinney…"

"Yeah."

Mort didn't know why but she seemed to clam up quickly. He didn't get a chance to question it though as Cathy came back in.

"The police officer is outside." She said.

Dylan got off the table and left the room, leaving a very confused Mort behind her. When he went to follow her, she was speaking to the police officer with her arms folded.

"So, what exactly did he take?"

Dylan sighed. "My engagement ring, my laptop and two hard drives, two cameras with their camera bags, tripod, UV filter, memory cards, separate flash, a bunch of different lenses, my phone, my purse with all my money and cards with my driver's license, my prescription, I don't know if that's important…"

"Yeah, anything you can remember."

"My keys, mp3 player, a bunch of photography books, my portfolio…That's all I can remember. Oh, and the car."

"My license and registration too, I guess." Mort said. "I had left those in the car."

"Is there anything else you left in the car, Mister Rainey?" The officer asked.

"Nothing important." Mort tried to think. "Wait, there might have been actually."

"Okay, what?"

He sighed. "An open prescription and some pills. I leave the prescription in the car so I can always find it when I need to refill it."

The officer nodded. "I'm going to have to ask you a few questions about the prescription."

"Alright."

Dylan looked up at him. "I'm just going to go find Cathy."

She left as Mort spoke to the officer and walked back into the room where Cathy was just getting off the phone.

"I was just calling Ron, letting him know everyone's okay for the most part. Are you?"

"Uh yeah, I think so."

Cathy saw Dylan not look so good. "Honey, are you sure you're okay?"

Dylan couldn't hold it in any longer. "I think Mort is cheating on me."

Cathy had not been expecting that. "What?"

"He's been gone a lot lately and…And he told me he was going to a doctor's appointment today but I went there after I left my office and he wasn't there. The doctor didn't have a clue about it. And his phone was off when the nurse tried to call him. Why would he lie to me about where he's going and where is he going so much? He works from home."

"I'm sure it's nothing." Cathy tried to reason. "Dylan, you trust Mort. He'd never cheat on you, never, pregnant or not pregnant."

"I've been so moody since I got pregnant and I've barely even let him touch me. This wasn't at all what he signed up for."

"Dylan, stop. Mort loves you. He loves you. He would never, ever do anything to hurt you and there is no way on this earth that he is bitter about you being pregnant. You trust Mort. Did you see the way he ran in here? How worried he was?"

"I know but he's always going out and he never says where or…Or he's on the phone all the time but he hangs up the minute I get anywhere near him. He's hiding something, I definitely know it."

"Dylan, Mort would never cheat on you."

"Because I'm so great to have around lately?" She cried. "I'm always tired, I'm moody, I never want to have sex even though who the hell would want to have sex with me when I'm all fat and throwing up every ten minutes, I can never stop crying…"

"Dylan, Dylan stop." Cathy said. She realised her sisters emotions were all over the place, especially considering what she'd just went through but it was a ridiculous thought. "Mort would never cheat on you. He would never cheat, not after his wife did it to him. I know exactly how it feels to have your emotions all over the place when you're pregnant but I can't believe it's true, not of Mort, not after everything you and he have gone through together."

"Maybe he's finally just seen what all the rest did, that I'm no good."

"Oh…Nuts to the rest, you just used to have bad taste in men. Used to. Dylan, please, trust me on this. Mort is not cheating on you."

"Then where is he going that he can't tell me about?"

To be honest, Cathy wasn't sure what was going on or what Mort was doing, Dylan could have very well been right though Cathy would have been seriously shocked, but she did know that this added stress was the last thing Dylan and her baby needed. "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for all of it, have you talked to him?"

"No, not yet. I'm too scared."

"Well ask him, it could be something really simple and you're torturing yourself for no reason."

Dylan nodded but still wasn't sure. She turned when Mort walked back into the room.

"The police officer is finished, you ready to go home?"

Dylan tried to act normal. "Sure. I'm just going to…" She stopped with a humourless smile.

"What?" Mort frowned.

"I was just about to say I was going to get my bag. But it's not here. I don't know where it is."

Mort walked over and took her into his arms as she began to cry again. Dylan was frankly too tired and worn out to refuse.

Cathy, sensing that privacy was needed, went to the door. "I'm just going to pull the car around; I'll meet you two outside."

"Thanks." Mort said to her.

She nodded, definitely thinking Dylan had to be wrong. Looking at him then, there was no way there was another woman. It didn't answer what he was doing but she was confident she was right about that. Cathy left the room and left the two alone.

"It'll be okay." He said as Dylan hugged into him. "We can fix this. You and the baby, that's what's important."

Dylan shook her head. "Why didn't I just drive off? Why did I have to be an idiot and sit there?"

"Dylan, it's not your fault." He said. "These guys know what they're doing."

She shook her head and parted from his embrace. "We better go outside. Cathy offered to drive us home; I don't want to keep her waiting."

"Okay."

Later that evening, Dylan was lying on her side on her bed and looking out the window. She couldn't understand it, the minute they'd gotten home and she'd relaxed, Mort had gone off to his office to make another secret phone call. She couldn't understand it and frankly, she couldn't believe it. Mort had promised to call Penny though and that's what he had done; he just didn't know Dylan knew anything about it which was why he was very confused by her standoffish behaviour.

"Do you want anything?" He asked, coming into the bedroom.

"No."

"Are you sure? I may not be able to cook anything but I'm quite good at dialling numbers."

"I don't want anything."

"You have to eat." He walked in further and sat on the bed. "Dylan?"

"How did your appointment with Doctor Kinney go?"

Mort frowned. "What?"

"Your appointment. How'd it go?"

"Oh…We don't need to talk about that now, I'd rather focus on you."

Dylan nodded. "I'm not hungry."

Mort sighed. "Look, I'm going to order take out, I'll order some for you and you can have it whenever you want, okay?"

"Okay."

Mort got off the bed, not knowing if she was just upset over what had happened, if she was mad at him or if she was just going through another mood swing. It was hard to tell these days.

"I'll be downstairs if you need anything."

She didn't reply.

He sighed and began to walk out of the room.

"Mort?"

He stopped and looked at her. "What is it?"

She had turned around to face him. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I know I'm being ridiculously hard to deal with lately. I don't mean to be, I can't control it but I really don't mean to take it out on you."

Mort walked back over to her and sat on the bed again. "I know that. Dylan, no one would blame you for being stressed lately, especially considering what happened to you today."

"It's not just today, though that didn't help. And don't lie to me; I know I'm driving you crazy. You couldn't possibly not hate me sometimes."

"Hate you?" Mort was surprised by that. "Why would I hate you? How could I hate you?"

"Very easily."

"Alright Dylan, this has to stop." He said, shaking his head. "If we're going to survive this pregnancy at all, you're going to have to start trying to talk to me instead of trying to guess what I'm thinking. Also, you're going to have to let me know what you're thinking, especially when I ask. Don't just think you're annoying me and not talk to me because of it, that just leaves me confused and you upset. I understand that your emotions are all over the place, believe me, and I'm trying to be understanding but honey, and I say with the most love in the world, you are being impossible."

Dylan nodded. "Is that why you're leaving so much and lying to me about where you go?"

Mort frowned at her. "What?"

"I went to Doctor Kinney's office today to see you after your appointment. I felt bad about the way I was acting lately and I thought I'd be supportive, you know, be there for you when you got out so you didn't have to take a cab or something. I don't ask you about it a lot and I thought maybe it would be better if I was a part of your recovery as opposed to just letting you do it alone like I have been lately. So I went there and I waited and found out that you were never there." She looked close to tears.

"Dylan…"

"And the crazy thing is, I didn't want to bring this up. I wanted to ignore it completely because I figured that you're not breaking up with me, you're still coming home. Maybe if I just pretend like I don't know anything and let you do whatever you're doing, this won't become a huge thing and you won't leave. I could just…Let you get whatever it is out of your system."

Mort couldn't believe it. "Do you think I'm cheating on you?"

"It crossed my mind but honestly, no I don't. I won't lie though, it is always in the back of my mind but I just think of how it's the most ridiculous thought in the world that you would do something like that but then…I mean, all those "meetings" with Stephanie, what could you two possibly be meeting about so much? You can't deny that you've been gone a lot lately. Why lie to me about where you're going and where are you going so much? You work from home."

"I can't believe you would even consider that about me." Mort said. He could have very easily cleared up what was going on by telling her the truth but the fact that it had crossed her mind, he didn't want to excuse that. He didn't want to calm her fears; he wanted her to see how stupid they were, no matter what. It didn't matter what he was actually doing, it mattered that he wasn't doing that and she should know it. "Dylan, you should trust me. I would never cheat on you, never."

"I don't think you are."

"Then what do you think?"

"That you need to get away from me sometimes, that not being around me is the only way to cope with being with me lately."

"That doesn't make this better."

"Nothing can make this better. You might be mad at me for not knowing where you go and trying to come to my own conclusions but Mort, you're constantly leaving this house and lying about where, what am I supposed to think you're doing? Of course my mind is going to wander."

"You honestly think I'm just trying to get away from you?"

_All the work I've put in to do something wonderful for you and this is what I get?_

Dylan shook her head. "Who would blame you? I mean, I'm not exactly a joy to be around. You…"

"Dylan, stop. Stop putting yourself down and using me to do it. That is not how this is going to work. You don't get to make me out like I'm an asshole when I've never said anything bad about you."

"I know but you are always going out and you never say where or…Or you're on the phone all the time but you hang up the minute I get anywhere near you. You can't deny that you're hiding something, I definitely know it. Honestly, what else would I think besides there's someone else? You're talking to someone on the phone, you're meeting someone. Even if it's not an affair…"

"It's not an affair! I would never do that to you! Never!"

"I didn't say you're having an affair."

"No, just that I can't stand to be around you!"

"It makes sense. I shout, you leave. I act bitchy, you leave. I do nothing but vomit all day; you stay away from me…"

"Jesus Dylan, stop." He cut her off. He realised her emotions were all over the place, especially considering what she'd just went through but enough was enough. "You're right. I am struggling with this. I am struggling with the fact that my future wife thinks I'm cheating on her. I am struggling with trying to work around your mood swings and it doesn't help that every time I try to explain myself, you immediately descend into hating yourself and not giving me a chance. I get that you had bad guys in your past telling you those things but if you're going to push all those things onto me and make it out like I think those things and I act that way, it's not going to work. You don't get to accuse me of something I would never do because you refuse to talk to me and then your insecurity takes over. I should get a chance to let you know what I think before you decide it for yourself. I've been cheated on, I've been avoided and I've had mood swings and emotions everywhere. I get all of that and you know I do. You know better than anyone which is why you should expect me to understand, not assume I want to make it easier on myself. And believe me; none of this has been easy. I have been working my ass off for you and this is all I get for it?"

Dylan frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Mort was about to tell her everything, let her know exactly how wrong she was and even, in his own selfish want, make her feel bad for thinking those things about him but he didn't. He didn't want to give her that right now. From his perspective, he had been doing something for her that should have been one of the greatest things she'd ever be given but right now, he was so angry that he didn't want her to have it.

He got up to walk out of the room.

"Mort, where are you going?" She asked.

"I just…I need to clear my head."

"You're not going to tell me where you've been going?"

He left the room without a word. He walked downstairs and into the kitchen, standing at the sink. He just needed to be on his own for a few minutes, even. He needed to regain control of his mind because at the moment, only one thought was getting in.

_I need a drink. _

_No you don't. You don't need it. You want it and that doesn't mean anything. You don't get everything you want. _

_Then why am I trying to give her everything she wants? Especially when this is all I get back._

_You're doing it because you love her and you want to give her everything she deserves, that's what you promised._

_Deserves, she deserves it?_

_Yes, she does. She stood by you through the drinking and Shooter, she never held it against you. She's having your baby. You love her. You want to marry her. You can't say you're not bitter with her and then be bitter with her. She found out that you were lying, it sucks but it happened. You were lying to her, you can't be mad at her for asking why. You can't be mad at her for wanting to know the truth. She even said herself she knows you wouldn't cheat. She thought about it and she realised it couldn't be true. What more do you want?_

_Some trust? For her to not just expect me to hate her._

_She doesn't think you hate her; she just doesn't like herself very much at the moment. You can't deny that she's been hard to deal with lately, at least she's aware. At least she knows she's being difficult and wants to try and do better. You're not giving her a chance._

_She didn't give me one._

_She tried to and you walked away. You're annoyed with her for putting herself down and blaming you for it but you're doing the exact same thing right now. You're feeling sorry for yourself that things didn't go your way and you're blaming her. _

_I want a drink, I want a drink, I want a drink…_

"No, I don't…" He said to himself. "I don't want one, I don't need one, I'm fine."

_One drink, just to take the edge off._

"It's never just one. There's none in the house so it's not an option…"

_It's always an option. _

Mort grabbed the keys to Dylan's car and left the house.

He didn't come home.

The next day, Dylan was frantic around the house. Mort had left his phone at home and she had no idea where he was gone. It was killing her. When there was a knock on the door, she could feel the fear bubbling up inside her. What if it was the police? What if something had happened? Eventually, she answered it and saw Cathy on the other side.

"Hey honey, how are you feeling?" Her sister asked. In her hands was a box full of clothes.

"Mort stormed out yesterday and he didn't come home. I don't know where he is."

Cathy walked inside and put the box down.

"Oh my God, what happened?"

"I just…I asked him where he was going all the time." Dylan said. "I told him I didn't think he was cheating on me but he still freaked out at me and he left. I don't know where he is, if he's okay. I'm going out of my mind."

"Oh honey, come here." Cathy hugged her and led her into the living room to sit down. "I'm sure it's nothing."

"I'm so scared."

"He hasn't called?"

"Not once."

Cathy didn't know what to say. "Have you eaten today?"

Dylan shook her head.

"Okay, I'm going to make you something and…"

"I'm not hungry."

"It's not for you." Cathy patted her sister's small bump lightly. "You stay here and just try to breathe and relax."

Cathy walked out to the kitchen and instead of staying put, Dylan picked up the box that Cathy brought and put it on the coffee table. Inside were a bunch of clothes.

"What is this stuff?" Dylan asked when her sister came back into the room.

"Oh, I boxed up a bunch of maternity clothes and babygros that don't fit Rebecca anymore. I thought I might as well give them to you now. The maternity clothes are only from last year so they're not that out of fashion." She tried to say light-heartedly.

Dylan took a babygro out of the box and looked it over. She couldn't help but feel overwhelmed again as the tears came.

"Oh Dylan…"

Cathy sat next to her and took her sister into her arms as Dylan cried.

"Have you called the police?"

"No, I don't think he's missing, he just doesn't want to come home. Why did I open my mouth?"

"You had to ask, you weren't wrong."

"Apparently I was." Dylan dried her eyes. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

"I know, honey. You can't think of anywhere he might be?"

"No, not all night."

Even Cathy had to admit, him staying out all night didn't look good. She wouldn't say it out loud though; she had to stay positive for Dylan.

"Look, maybe he has a perfectly reasonable explanation."

"Like what?" Dylan asked. "What reasonable explanation could there be for going out all night and not calling once, even just to let me know he was okay?" She shook her head. "I thought I was done with all this stuff. I thought that this was the real deal, you know? That I'd made mistakes before but now, things were going to go right. I was going to get married, have children, live a normal life and be happy. I'm not even married yet or out of my first trimester and my fiancé ran away."

"Dylan…"

"I mean at least before when things went wrong, there wasn't a baby involved. I don't want this baby to not have its parents be together, I don't want it to be born into a situation that isn't completely perfect for it. I want this baby to have everything it can and be so happy and I'm already after screwing that up."

"No, you haven't. You're just letting your fear run away with you. You could be telling me tomorrow about how silly you were thinking these things. In an hour, everything could be sorted out."

Dylan looked at her sister. "I wish I could be as positive as you are."

Cathy looked at her encouragingly. "I have to believe that after everything you've been through, some good luck is coming your way. Now, will you please eat something? If you want your baby to have the best it possibly could, you have to take care of yourself as well."

"Fine."

After Dylan ate, she assured her sister that she would be fine. Cathy wasn't sure about leaving her on her own but Dylan told her she was just going to sleep for a while, not getting a lot the night before. She was asleep for about an hour when she was woken up by the front door downstairs opening and closing. She got up and walked halfway down the stairs and saw Mort walk along the hall. He stopped when he saw her looking down at him. She didn't say a word.

"I know you're mad at me…" He began, half expecting her to cut him off.

She still didn't say anything.

"Dylan, I can explain."

"I don't even know if I care anymore." She shook her head.

"Dylan…"

She turned to walk back up the stairs. "Don't bother. I know how much you hate telling me where you go."

He walked to the bottom of the stairs. "I went out drinking."

That made her stop and turn to him.

"I went out and brought a bottle of Jack Daniels." He admitted. "Then I went to some cheap motel room and sat there and stared at it for hours, trying to convince myself that I wouldn't hate myself for drinking it. I wanted to so badly. I wanted nothing more than to open it and drink the entire bottle in one go. I stayed like that all night. This morning, I left it there and went to an AA meeting."

Dylan frowned at him. "You didn't drink it?"

"No. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. Or didn't do, I guess."

"Am I supposed to be happy?" She asked. "Am I supposed to tell you that you did well? Congratulate you? What do you want from me?"

"I want you to forgive me and understand that it was something I had to do. I wanted a drink yesterday, probably the most that I've wanted one so far and I had to know that I could say no. I had to put myself in that position."

"So that's our life, is it? Whenever you get stressed, you run off for a night and don't tell me where, don't let me contact you and tease yourself with alcohol, hoping you don't drink? And I just have to wait it out? Wait to see if you'll come home? Wait to see if you'll succeed and not take a drink? And if you do drink, then what? I wait it out and then pretend like it didn't happen because you come home and look sad at me? And while I'm waiting for you to actually start caring again, I explain to our child, which is real by the way, that daddy disappeared to go and tempt himself but don't worry, he might come back soon?"

Mort didn't know what to say though he knew that she had a right to say all of it. "I know our baby is real."

"Really? Because lately you've been acting like this baby isn't the most important thing in the world and it is, Mort. It is for me and it should be for both of us. I'm terrified of doing anything to hurt this baby and you're wandering around and lying to me and sneaking out and not telling me where you go and get annoyed with me when I ask and then disappear without a word, leaving me here to go out of my mind with worry. Does that sound like you're trying to do the best for this baby? Or for yourself?"

"I'm trying to do the best for you."

She shrugged. "How?"

Mort sighed. "I'm planning our wedding."

Dylan looked at him, confused. "What?"

"I felt bad that you weren't going to get the wedding you wanted and I said it to Penny when she dropped by one day and she told me that with her contacts and stuff, we could still do it. We were going to surprise you but I don't want you worrying about where I'm going or what I'm doing or with who."

"I…I don't understand, how is that even possible? To plan a wedding without the bride ever finding out?"

"It's, uh, it's not obviously."

Dylan shook her head. "You're actually telling me the truth right now?"

"Yeah. We have the venue and the rings and I got the name of a photographer out of your phone when you were in the shower. Penny's taken care of the flowers and we were at cake tastings yesterday. It's the reason Penny got you to try on your wedding dress, because we needed to see if it would fit."

"It doesn't." She said quietly.

"I know, she told me. So we were trying to figure out how to get you a new one that you'd love but we hadn't…Yet."

"Why didn't you tell me this yesterday when I asked?"

"I got…Overwhelmed, I guess. We had spent so long trying to make this happen and then you found out and I didn't know what to say."

Dylan was still for a second before turning and walking upstairs and back into the bedroom.

"Dylan?" He frowned, walking after her. "Say something."

"I don't know what to say. Do you want me to completely forget last night because you tell me that you're planning our wedding? They're two separate things. One is a beautiful, kind gesture which I'm amazed by and the other is a selfish, cruel thing that I'm amazed you could do. They're literally so different that I can't even begin to figure how to process dealing with both of them."

"I'd prefer if you focused on the nice one."

"You know what I've been focusing on, Mort?"

"The baby?"

She looked at him with an unhappy expression.

"I didn't mean that as in you keep going on about it; I just meant that I know you care."

"You know I care. You know I have been terrified of doing anything that might hurt this baby. I was terrified that what happened to me all those months ago might have an effect on our baby. I was terrified that something bad might have happened yesterday to our baby. You saw me, you know I was scared."

"I know."

"Then why did you think it was a good idea to go out all night and not tell me where, not call me and assume that I wouldn't be stressed out, that I wouldn't worry? You know I've been terrified over what I've done and what I do and how it will affect this baby and you didn't care when you walked out of this house yesterday. I had every right to ask you where you were going and you used it against me. You made me seem like I was the one in the wrong."

"I was upset that you could think I would want to hurt you, that I would be doing something that could hurt this relationship. I was doing something for you, I wanted to give you something wonderful and I was getting questioned like I was doing something awful."

"Because I knew what you were doing? I should have guessed?"

"I handled it wrong."

"You were annoyed at the thought that you might do something to hurt this relationship so you decided to go out and do something to hurt this relationship?"

"No, I went out and fought against doing something to hurt this relationship. Dylan, I know you think everything needs to be perfect right now and I don't like saying it but I haven't been sober very long and we weren't planning on having a baby this soon. I want to step up and do the right thing but I'm still trying to overcome an addiction that ruined my life for years. It's not that easy. I did the wrong thing yesterday, I'm sorry but do you realise how hard it is to hear the woman you want to be your wife go on about how you must hate her? You didn't give me a chance to explain before you came to your own conclusions and when I tried to tell you that you were wrong, you wouldn't believe me. I was ready to tell you about the wedding but you didn't want to hear it, you just wanted me to tell you what you thought. I was planning our wedding. I was doing something I didn't even want in the first place for you."

"If you told me that yesterday, do you really think I would have been upset?"

"It wasn't about what you thought; it was about what I felt. I'm in this relationship too, you know."

Dylan frowned. "I know that."

"Really? Because right now, you seem to be only focusing on how you could have felt better and Dylan, to be honest, that's all you've been doing lately. I get that you're pregnant but you're not the only one expecting a baby. I'm nervous too and I'm scared too of something bad happening and I'm trying to cope with all these changes just as much as you but while you're wondering why I'm not trying to make you feel good, I'm out there, trying to do something that will make you feel good. I'm trying the best I can here but I feel like I'm being expected to be perfect and you have to meet me halfway. I did something stupid yesterday and I'm sorry but I'm not sorry for lying to you about where I was going. I only did it with good intentions."

Dylan didn't say anything and after a few seconds, Mort realised she wasn't going to. He gave up and turned to leave the room.

"You went to an AA meeting?"

He looked back at her. "Yeah, I did."

"How did it go?"

"Horrible. It was awkward and uncomfortable and one of the ugliest things I've ever had to go through."

"Do you think you'll go back?"

"Yeah."

She nodded and looked away from him again. Mort left the room and left Dylan to consider what he'd said. She guessed he could be right, she knew she'd been acting a little selfish lately but that's what she'd been saying yesterday. The fact that he only brought it up when she effectively backed him into a corner though must have said something about how he was handling it. From the looks of things, up until yesterday he'd been handling it a lot better than she thought. He wasn't running out to get away from her because she was acting so awful, he was planning a wedding. That she never expected. If she'd heard it under any other circumstance, she'd have been elated.

_You still should be. Just because he made a mistake yesterday doesn't mean he can't be thanked and appreciated for all the work and thought he put in up until that point. No one's ever done something so wonderful for you. You should let him know that you appreciate it instead of ignore it because he made a mistake. You've made a few of those yourself in your time. At least he didn't get drunk, he stopped himself. That's one of the best things you could hope for._

Dylan decided that Mort was right in his own way, he was in this relationship too and if they wanted to get anywhere, not talking wouldn't help. She could definitely forgive him for going out and not telling her where now that she knew the real answer and although she was still upset over the worry he caused her last night, she was worried because she loved him. She could only try and put this fight behind them so she got up to do just that.

"Mort?" She called. "I-"

She was cut off when Mort walked back into the room with his ringing phone in his hand.

"What are you doing?" Dylan asked.

"Just listen." He said, making her sit on the bed again "Don't speak; I don't want her to know you know but just listen."

"Who is it?"

"It's Penny." He answered the phone and put it on loud speaker, placing it on the bed between them. "Hey Penny, what's up?"

"I have brilliant news." Dylan heard her say excitedly. "Brilliant, brilliant news. Like the best news you could get."

"What?" Mort asked.

"There was a cancellation at Belvedere." Dylan looked at Mort with a frown, not believing that Penny might be talking about where she thought. She'd done photo shoots there but never thought she'd be able to get married there. "They had a wedding booked in two weeks but it got called off, he was cheating with her sister. It's the best thing ever!"

"That is good news." Mort was saying. "I'm just not sure."

"I know, I know you're trying to think about if Dylan would prefer the gardens or there because of the pictures but you saw it yourself, it's quite near the gardens so you could get pictures in both. Plus, she wouldn't have to worry about having a big bump which is what you wanted. Or what she wanted. We have to decide right now though because we've been making all the arrangements for two months from now so we have to let them know as soon as possible that the date will be much sooner."

"Will that work?" Mort asked.

"Like I'm said, I'm owed favours and we could just owe other favours. It'll be fine. Mort, this is what we were hoping for. We could wait another two months but do you really want to hide it from Dylan for that much longer?"

"Uh no, I think that would be impossible." He said looking at Dylan who frankly looked shocked by now. "We still don't have her dress."

"She'll need a dress, no matter what so it won't be too hard to convince her to shop for one. Come on Mort, this is what we were trying for. All that hard work could pay off so much sooner and think of her face when she finds out."

Mort was looking at that face right now. "It'll be something."

"So, will I say yes?"

Dylan finally looked from the phone to Mort and he gave her a shrug, letting her know it was her decision. She looked conflicted.

"Mort?" Penny asked.

Eventually, Dylan gave him a small smile as she nodded her head.

"It's a yes." Mort said.

"Fantastic! I'll call you later and we can try and figure out how to get her a dress. Bye!"

Penny hung up her phone and Mort took his own into his hand. Dylan still looked in shock and like words were not coming easily to her.

"So," He said. "Dresses-"

He was cut off when she reached over quickly and pressed her lips against his. He was surprised when she didn't end it, instead getting closer to press against him.

"Wait, are we going to-?"

"Uh-huh." She replied quickly, her hands going to his shirt.

"Oh…Okay." He kissed her again, not really understanding them but finally liking these mood swings.

* * *

"I can't believe this is really happening."

"It's really happening." Penny said. "Hold still."

"It just seems so fast. Two weeks ago, I didn't even know anything about this and now here I am getting into a wedding dress and getting ready to get married."

"You weren't even supposed to know two weeks ago. Your husband can't keep a secret."

"Not my husband yet."

"Give it an hour. Hold still." Penny said as she tried to attach the veil to her sister's hair.

"Oh God, I'm actually getting married. Penny…"

Penny walked around to her sister and crouched down to face her. She grasped her hand. "Dylan, there's nothing to be nervous about. You know this is what you've always wanted, you're finally getting it."

"I know…" She said. "It's just…What if I screw it up?"

"You won't. I've never seen someone go to as much effort as I've seen Mort go through for you; the man planned your damn wedding. He loves you more than anything. You're having his baby. Dylan, this is the part where things start going your way. No more fear, no more worry, just you and your husband and your family. You're going to be so happy." Penny smiled encouragingly.

Dylan could feel the tears coming to her eyes but tried to keep them at bay to save her make up. She smiled. "I can't believe this is finally happening."

"Well, believe it. It's all up from here. Now come on."

Penny helped her sister stand up and Dylan looked at the mirror. She'd been very lucky to find a beautiful loose wedding dress that had an embellished cross strap over her right shoulder to hide her scar with a flowing but simple skirt. Her bump could be slightly seen but she actually didn't mind, it accentuated this type of dress more than it made it look bulky. Her hair was pulled back loosely with a few strands left fall and she had a bejewelled headband which had the veil attached to it. Her bouquet consisted of dusky pink and white roses. She couldn't believe she was looking at herself. She'd never felt so pretty in her whole life.

The door opened and Cathy popped her head in. "Hey, the car is here. Oh Dylan…" She walked further into the room. "You look beautiful."

Dylan smiled at her. "Thank you."

"Ready to go?" Penny asked.

Dylan looked at the mirror again.

"Yeah, I guess I am."

* * *

"If you two weren't going to stick to the small ceremony, we should have known sooner."

"Dad…"

"I'm just saying, two weeks is no notice. I would have liked to chip in to my daughter's wedding."

"Just you guys' support is enough." Dylan said as they sat in the back seat of the town car that was bringing them to the venue.

"Of course we're going to support you marrying the father of your baby."

"Nothing about him being the man I love and who makes me happy?"

"That too."

"Don't mind him." Constance said. "He's just trying to put on a brave face over the fact that his youngest daughter is getting married. He's heartbroken inside."

"I am not." Sam said. "I'm more than happy that she's marrying someone who loves her as much as she deserves."

Dylan smiled and placed her head on her father's shoulder. "Thanks, daddy."

Sam seemed to have trouble saying anymore and instead took his daughter's hand in his own.

When they got to the park, Mort was waiting for them. There wasn't really an aisle for her to walk down so instead, he was meeting them at the car.

"Nervous?" Danny, Jen's husband, asked as he approached him.

"Uh, a little." Mort nodded. "I'm not quite good with the whole standing up in front of people thing. Although I wasn't very good at the marriage thing either…"

"You'll be fine. We need another husband around, those sisters can be…Daunting. I have been in that family since I was seventeen and I still get nervous when they're all together."

"You've known Jen since you were seventeen?"

"No, I've known Jen since I was thirteen. I got her pregnant at seventeen."

"Ah."

"Yeah, you think Sam is bad now? Imagine the fear I went through when we had to tell them that."

"Hard to believe you're still alive."

"You'd have to thank Constance for that."

"You have any idea how those two got together?" Mort had always wondered. "She's so laid back and he's…Not."

Danny laughed. "Yeah, no idea. Oh, here they come."

Mort looked to see the car approaching. "Oh boy…"

"Good luck." Danny patted his shoulder before going back to Jen.

"Yeah, thanks." Mort waited as the car pulled up and watched as Sam got out of the other side and walked around to him.

"Rainey." Sam nodded.

"I think Mort is fine." Mort said. "After all, after today, Dylan is going to be Rainey too so we won't know which one you're talking to."

Sam looked at him sternly.

"Not ready to joke, alright then."

"I just want to say," Sam began. "That I'm very happy you're marrying my daughter."

"You look it." Mort said before remembering to shut up.

"But," Sam went on. "If you ever hurt her, they will never find your body."

"Alright, another good talk." Mort nodded. "We're good at those."

"Just tell me you understand."

"Crystal clear." He said. "I'm never going to hurt Dylan. You have nothing to worry about from me."

"Good." Sam went to the car door and opened it and Constance got out.

"Good luck." She beamed at him.

Mort nodded in thanks and watched as Sam put in a hand to help Dylan out. Mort felt his breath leave him as she got out of the car and stood before him. He'd never seen anyone looking as beautiful as he saw her look, standing there with a coy smile. Sam led her up to him and put her hand into Mort's.

"Here you go, Rainey. Remember what I said."

"Till the day I die." Mort replied, hoping Sam would take that as an indication to stop letting him know that his death would be imminent if he hurt Dylan. Looking at her now, he couldn't even imagine trying. As Constance pulled Sam away and they were left alone, Dylan spoke.

"What did he say?" She asked.

"Just the usual pleasantries. You look…"

She smiled again with a hint of a blush coming to her cheeks. "You like it?" She asked looking down at the dress.

"I love you."

She looked back up at him. "I love you too. I can't wait to be married to you."

Mort was about to kiss her but they were interrupted.

"Hey, hey, hey, no kissing until the guy says so." Penny said, coming up to him. "And speaking of, everyone's ready so you think you could get married at some point today?"

"Yes Penny, thank you." Dylan half smiled at her sister.

"Alright then, let's go. We're on a very strict deadline."

Penny walked away and Dylan looked back to Mort.

"I guess that means it's time. Ready to go?"

Mort couldn't believe how sure he was.

"Let's get married."

* * *

**I'll put a picture of Dylan's dress and stuff up on the tumblr if anyone wants to have a look.**

**Thanks for reading! Please Review!**


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